Residents' fears over another off-licence for Wednesfield

They claim the number of anti-social behaviour incidents in Wednesfield is at a high, with people drinking in public, littering the streets with cans and bottles and harassing the elderly and the young.

More than 50 householders held a meeting last week to discuss the issue and draw up an action plan.

Fears have been raised by an application from Newstop in High Street, Wednesfield, to sell alcohol between 8am and 8pm, to be drank off the premises.

The shop is located within Wolverhampton's cumulative impact zone, set up to protect people in certain parts of the city from violence and anti-social behaviour.

Wolverhampton Police have also objected to the bid, pointing to the number of licensed premises in the area, with some already implicated in crime and disorder incidents.

Pc Kelly Fellows-Hale said: "My concern is that allowing another licensed premises to open within a small area like Wednesfield will only fuel the crime levels. We recently objected to an application of the same ilk for the same area."

Newstop bosses have offered to hold back until 10am before selling alcohol and ban the sale of cider and beer over the strength of 6.5 per cent abv, and also refuse to sell single cans.

But residents are adamant that no licence should be granted, restricted or otherwise.

Simon Sanders wrote: "Please consider the elderly, the children and the families who have put up with the behaviour of alcohol-drinking individuals on a daily basis on the High Street. Adding more places for them to buy from is totally unacceptable."

William Clarke said he felt 'sick to my stomach' when he learned of the application. following a series of problems in the vicinity, including drunken fights, criminal damage, the bullying of children and abuse being hurled at passers-by.

"I refuse to stand by and allow another premises on the High Street to sell alcohol."

Some said businesses were being affected and that many elderly now avoided the High Street .

Licensing chiefs feel there is insufficient information to show how the applicant would address problems associated with the cumulative impact zone.

The policy seeks to limit the density of pubs and clubs in a particular area to reduce the risk of nuisance and disturbance due to their combined impact.

As a result the council operates an automatic refusal policy on city centre applications unless special circumstances can be proved.

The application will be decided at next Tuesday's(16th) meeting of the licensing committee.