A South Lakeland chippy and café can now sell alcohol despite objections, councillors have ruled.
Robin, Richard, Simon and Michael Miller, who run Arnside Chip Shop, on The Promenade, want to reopen their business for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The business applied for a licence for consumption of alcohol on and off the premises, seven days a week, between noon and 9.30pm.
The Millers want to open to the public, seven days a week, between 10am and 10pm.
Members of Westmorland and Furness Council’s licensing sub-committee decided the matter on Tuesday at a meeting in Kendal.
Concerns had been raised from objectors in a number of areas including: problem drinking, public nuisance, crime and disorder and public safety.
Alison Mansfield, who lives next door to the chip shop, attended the meeting to outline her objections to the proposal.
She said that the chip shop operated a click and collect service and customers would wait in a shared driveway between her property and the chip shop.
She added: “These people tend to hang around in the alleyway.”
She said she was concerned that they would be drinking alcohol while they waited for their fish and chips to be served.
“Are they going to be given that alcohol when they leave the premises with their order or are they going to be given it before in the shared driveway?” she added.
She said there could even be incidents of drink driving if they got into their cars after drinking alcohol.
And she said she felt that a 10pm closing time was too late for the surrounding area.
Her husband John showed the committee members some photos of people hanging around in the shared driveway on Sunday evening.
He said: “I’ve had abuse driving my car up the driveway.”
He said that this would be worse if alcohol was added to the situation and there were already enough outlets selling alcohol in the village.
David Miller said it was not a shared drive but the Mansfields were given access to it – and if there was any abuse then that was wrong.
He said if the café was used while customers waited then it would take them away from the driveway.
In the application the Millers said: “We are a busy fish and chip shop takeaway and café that has not reopened since being closed during COVID.
“We are looking to relaunch the café whilst offering a more relaxed feel and offering a better selection of drinks such as speciality coffees and alcohol.
“We also understand that people do go and buy drinks from the local shops to have with their takeaway, so would be looking to offer a takeaway (sealed containers) option as well.”
After a short deliberation by committee members the applicants were told that the licence had been granted with an additional condition that staff should regularly check the surrounding area for problems such as litter.
