The alcohol problem in Blackpool
Figures submitted to the licensing panel show there are already 28 off-licences in the surrounding area – the highest concentration in the town.
Talbot ward, where B&M is located, also has a rate of booze-related hospital admissions that is almost 200 per cent higher than the national average.
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Hide AdThe rate of alcohol-related crime in the ward is more than four times higher than in the rest of Blackpool, the public health team said.
‘It would be a clear sign of clampdown effect’
If the application is rejected by the licensing panel on Thursday, it would be a clear sign that efforts to clamp down on alcohol sales in the town centre are having an effect.
In response to concerns the number of off-licences were fuelling booze-related problems, a saturation zone was created in 2009 to make it easier to turn down new applications.
In spite of this, the Bank Hey Street store was granted a licence in 2011.
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Hide AdAt the time, the policy required the applicant to show it would “not add to the cumulative impact already being experienced”.
But in 2015 the policy was updated to add: “The policy will only be overridden in genuinely exceptional cases where the applicant can demonstrate that the granting of the application will not undermine the policy and the reasons for it.”