Police urge halt to fish, chips and booze plan

The owners of Farnells Fishery, in Wadsley Precinct, Halifax Road, Sheffield, have applied to the city council for a licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises.

They say that they already have CCTV fitted to deter crime, that its staff monitor litter outside the shop and it will run a proof-of-age scheme to ensure drink is not sold to children.

But the application is being opposed by the licensing section of South Yorkshire Police because officers are worried about anti-social behaviour.

According to Pc Gillian Parker, Halifax Road and the area around the chip shop can be a "hot spot" for bad behaviour with 99 incidents in 13 months. Pc Parker says: "These incidents often include the throwing of missiles towards passing vehicles and reports of youths drinking alcohol in the street.

"There are a number of incidents reported by staff at The Local off licence a short distance down Halifax Road who report regular problems with large groups of youths hanging around and causing problems for staff and customers.

"These incidents show how large groups of youths are attracted to premises that sell alcohol to be consumed off the premises."

Police say there have been 13 incidents reported in the last year from the nearby White Horse Inn, ranging from "assaults to large disturbances" and 20 incidents from the Wadsley Bridge working men's club.

The report continues: "There have been 40 incidents reported at the nearby Lidl store. All of these locations are situated within a close proximity of Farnells Fishery. The police are concerned that another off licence premises in the area will attract further groups of youths into an area which already suffers from anti social behaviour and incidents of violent crime.

"There is no doubt that the consumption of alcohol has a direct link to anti social behaviour and violent crime."

The application will be examined by members of Sheffield Council's licensing board at a meeting on Thursday.