Alcohol-free community wins Tesco booze battle

Residents of an historic “dry” community founded by Quakers were tonight celebrating after winning a battle to prevent Tesco selling alcohol near their homes.

Birmingham City Council rejected the supermarket’s application for a licence to sell alcohol at one of its “express” stores near the Bournville area of the city.

It has been completely free of pubs and off-licences since it was founded by Quaker chocolate baron George Cadbury in the 1890s.

The supermarket wanted to open an off-licence on the edge of the Bournville Village estate, but councillors decided this could make existing problems of anti-social behaviour and underage drinking worse.

Nigel Dawkins, the councillor for Bournville who has led opposition to the licence, said: “This is a fantastic result. This shows Tesco that they have to talk to communities and they cannot just walk over them.

“This has put a line in the sand – people like Tesco cannot come and sell alcohol without consulting the communities. It feels pretty good but the victory is a victory for Bournville.”

A spokesman for Tesco said: “We are disappointed by this decision and are considering our options.”

Tesco later ruled out an appeal against today’s decision but said the chain might re-apply in future.

A spokesman said: “We respect the decision that the licensing authority has made and will now move forward and open a great store for the community in Bournville.

“We will continue to talk to our customers and the community following the opening and may think again in the future about applying for a licence if our customers feel it is right.”

Mr Dawkins said he was confident the decision would not be overturned.

More than 1,000 residents signed a petition objecting to the proposed licence, and a coachload of protesters descended on Birmingham Council House for today’s hearing.

Refusing the application, councillor Penny Wagg, chair of the Birmingham City Council licensing sub-committee, said: “The committee was concerned about issues relating to anti-social behaviour, underage drinking and litter which were raised by interested parties.”

A sustained round of applause from residents greeted the decision.

The supermarket had applied for a licence to sell alcohol from 7.30am to 10.30pm at a new Tesco Express convenience store just 50 yards from the edge of the Bournville Village Estate.

The estate was designed by Cadbury as a utopian community for workers at his chocolate factory, without the temptation of alcohol – and strict regulations have made sure it has remained “dry” ever since.

Mr Dawkins said: “It’s not that we are opposed to drinking alcohol – this isn’t a moral or religious stand, but we would like it to be respected.

“Our primary objection was that the licence for Tesco would have exacerbated an existing problem of anti-social behaviour.”

He said the proposed Tesco Express was in the middle of three hotspots for anti-social behaviour in Bournville.

Currently, young people buy alcohol outside Bournville and bring it in to drink in the area’s numerous parks, he said, and selling alcohol at the Tesco would have made this problem worse.

He said that selling alcohol would also have damaged the community’s unique historical identity, for which it was “famous around the world”.

Mr Dawkins complained that Tesco had refused to talk to residents to allay their concerns about the proposed development.

He said: “When I tried to talk to Tesco, they got their solicitor to ring me back, and he told me to put my questions in writing. This is not the way to deal with a mature community.”

Tesco licensing manager Greg Bartley told the hearing that it was company policy not to respond to residents’ concerns before licensing application hearings.

He said past experience had shown that contacting individual residents to address their worries could come across as “bullying”, and all objections were now heard at the licensing hearing.

Martin Sketchley, a Bournville resident with young children, said: “We moved to the area because we wanted to minimise our children’s exposure to anti-social behaviour.

“I just want a safe environment for my kids to grow up in, and I think the licence would have compromised that.”

Lynn Habermacher, another resident, said: “It’s wonderful, fantastic. We have a lot of problems with litter and broken bottles, and this would have made things worse.”