Proposals from oil firm Essar to sell alcohol on a 24-hour basis from a Yorkshire forecourt it operates have met with staunch opposition from local residents, with the local authority highlighting issues with the company’s application.
Essar, which directly operates 16 forecourts in the UK, is applying to Leeds City Council for a 24-hour alcohol licence for its Wharrels Service Station in Pudsey, a market town midway between Leeds and Bradford.
The firm is seeking the 24-hour licence in part so it can sell alcohol via delivery apps like Deliveroo, with this aspect described by representatives for Essar as “an increasingly important aspect of convenience retailing”. Shop sales of alcohol would be restricted to the night hatch from the hours 11pm to 6am.
But the oil firm is meeting significant resistance against its plans, with over a dozen objections from locals. The forecourt sits in a residential area and neighbours cite concerns over public nuisance, late-night activity at the forecourt, and “increased noise, disturbance, anti-social behaviour”.
More significant than neighbour objections, however, could be a detail highlighted by Leeds City Council’s Environmental Health Services. Because as well as deeming that Essar has not sufficiently explained how it intends to prevent the potential its plans have to cause increased public nuisance, the body notes that the forecourt in question “does not currently have planning permission to operate 24 hours”.
The local authority will decide the application on July 7.
