Concerns brushed aside as Harleston’s Prime Convenience Store is approved to sell alcohol

The owners of a new corner shop have secured permission to sell alcohol, despite strong opposition from some locals.

South Norfolk Council has granted Prime convenience store in Harleston a licence to sell alcohol two months after it first opened its doors.

The business has already stirred up some annoyance in the area, with locals claiming there has been an increase in traffic, noise and littering since the building changed hands.

This has been strongly denied by the new owners, who told the council their business needed alcohol sales to survive.

Maheswari Maheswaran and Shiva Kumar opened the shop in Redenhall Road in the former Thai Orchid Spa building.

The couple insist there are measures in place to prevent any issues or disturbance, including CCTV cameras and strict ID checks.

Nevertheless, their bid to sell alcohol between the hours of 6am and 11pm, seven days a week, has sparked anger among neighbours.

Andrew Macdonald, who lives locally, told the council: “There are several shops in Harleston already selling alcohol and I don’t believe we need another off licence.

“This is an excessively long period of time to sell alcohol. Redenhall Road is a residential area and not the commercial centre of the town.”

However, a spokesman for the owners disputed the claims there had been additional problems in the area since the shop opened.

He said: “We are a small corner shop trying to take the opportunity to broaden our customer base in order to survive.

“We are struggling to keep afloat and we want to work together with the community to help the business to flourish.”

South Norfolk Council’s licensing committee approved the application at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

The owners of the shop described how they had “built the business up from the ground” and expressed relief at the decision.