Strong response demanded over alcohol sales in Felpham

Felpham parish councillor Geoff Farrell said members of the council's planning committee should have objected more strongly to the proposed premises licence for the Tesco Express shop.

Tesco has applied to sell alcohol between 6am and 11pm seven days a week when the store opens on Felpham Way next to the King George V playing field.

The planning committee wanted the hours cut to 10pm each day to match alcohol sales at a store on the other side of the recreation ground.

But Cllr Farrell said: "We should have been more robust in what we suggested Tesco are allowed to do.

"I don't mind if they want to sell alcohol at 6am but they should stop at 8pm seven days a week because the store is next to a church and next to a place where people can sit and drink.

"No other place in Felpham has that combination.

Mary Harvey, a planning committee member, said: "I agree with everything Cllr Farrell has said. I didn't particularly feel the committee's response was robust enough.

"But we have to consider the situation if Tesco should appeal.

"We can't pick on them. There are other outlets around Felpham selling alcohol until 10pm and 11pm. Bringing Tesco's hours back to 10pm was as much as we felt we could do."

Parish council chairman Paul English said individual members who felt strongly about the situation should comment to Arun District Council about the matter before it decided the application by Tesco.

He feared the proposed alcohol sales had the potential to lead to bottles being smashed on the playing field.

"There could be broken bottles on the field when there are football matches being played. If that were to happen, people would not be happy. In fact, it could be deadly," he said.

Parish councillors have forced changes to the traffic arrangements intended to serve the Tesco Express store.

Cllr Graham Matthews met county council highways officers to discuss the plans for drivers entering and leaving the site next to the busy roundabout at the junction of Felpham Way and Middleton Road.

Motorists who leave the western side of the store will have to drive towards Bognor Regis because a traffic island will make right turns impossible.

Similarly, cars leaving the other side will have to go round the roundabout rather than cut across the traffic to reach Middleton.

Cllr Matthews said he was still unhappy with some aspects of the layout but the parish council had achieved all it could.