A Bexley corner shop has applied to extend its opening hours, but not everyone is happy.
In late 2024, GB News at 134 Erith Road applied for a premises licence to stay open for 24 hours every day.
The application was rejected by the council, so the applicant, Mrs Thanusha Jeevaranjan, revised her application to request extended operating hours for the shop, beyond the current hours of 6am to 11pm.
If their revised application is approved, the corner store will be open from 5am to 1am from Sunday to Thursday, and 5am to 2am on Friday and Saturday.
For the application to be approved, the applicant must meet four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.
To meet the criterion of the prevention of crime and disorder, the applicant has assured the council that the CCTV system will always be working, images will be kept for 31 days, and footage will be shown quickly to the police or authorized persons if needed.
The Challenge 25 policy will be enforced to ensure the criterion of protection for children from harm is met, with “notices advertising that the premises operates a ‘Challenge 25’ scheme shall be displayed in a clear and prominent position”.
The applicant also said that “all staff whose responsibilities include the retail sale of alcohol shall receive training on induction and every six months thereafter on the prevention of unlawful sales of alcohol, and the likely consequence of making an unlawful sale” to meet public safety and prevention of public nuisance standards.
However, despite meeting the criteria, some residents aren’t happy.
Resident Sam Ping objected to the application, stating: “There are already very busy conditions on this little road, with cars and motorcycles overcrowded, making a lot of noise, especially near midnight.
“We won’t have any sleep because after midnight, there are no people walking on the street—just people with cars or motorcycles.
“This will prevent sleep for residents.
“There are already several drunk people in this parade, wandering around and throwing rubbish everywhere.
“We only have one rubbish bin at the bus stop.
“I can’t see how they are going to pick up the rubbish.
They even drain the wastewater into the outside drain, which I saw myself.”
On Thursday (January 23), the Sevenoaks District Council Licensing Sub-Committee met to discuss whether to approve, approve with conditions, or reject the application.
A decision will be made no later than Thursday, January 30.