Campaigners have launched a renewed bid to block the development of a derelict pub over fears that booze-fuelled yobs will terrorise the area.
Winklebury shop owner Barry Dodds, 44, and community campaigner Lea Jeff, 58, are fighting plans to stop One Stop Stores converting the Three Barrels into a shop.
The pair launched a petition last week drawing more than 100 signatures in the first four hours. One Stop has asked the borough council’s permission to sell alcohol from 6am to 11pm, seven days a week.
Concerned resident Roger Barfoot, a 70-year-old nurse from Winklebury, said he feared the return of booze-driven problems in the area.
“I have lived here for 20 years and there has been a lot of problems with drug and alcohol abuse in the square," he said. “The shops here agreed to close early so it would not encourage youngsters to hang around, and it worked. To open alcohol sale to all hours will result in the return of the alcohol and drug abuse and it will be a nightmare for residents.”
The application is the latest in a long-running saga over the development of the former boozer. Last year, both the borough council and a Government planning inspector threw out a planning application by Clareton Ltd to convert the pub.
In December 2011 a revamped application was submitted to borough council planners. An outraged Mr Dodds said he feared he will be forced to close his 40-year-old, family-run Greenways Newsagents if One Stop opens, but added he will put up a fight.
“We are sick of it,” he said. “But at the same time, if they think we are going to give up then they are mistaken. If they do open we will not go without a fight.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for One Stop said: "We take our responsibilities towards the sale of alcohol very seriously. Our staff receive extensive training on the sale of age restricted products and we operate a strict Think 25 policy, which means if you look under 25, you must produce appropriate ID to prove you are 18 or over."
