COUNCILLORS have agreed to extend the hours a convenience store can sell alcohol to the early hours, despite fears about increased crime and anti-social behaviour.

Tharmarajah Sriskantharajah, owner of TRO Food and Wine, on Northgate, Darlington, had applied to Darlington Borough Council to extend his current licensed hours for the sale of alcohol from 11pm to 2am.

Mr Sriskantharajah told a sub-committee of the council’s licensing committee that he wanted to benefit from the popularity of 24 hour sales of alcohol at the Snax 24 garage which stands opposite his store.

Durham Police and the Westbrook Residents Association submitted objections on the grounds that the area is already a hotspot for crime and anti-social behaviour and could lead to further public nuisance.

Sergeant Caroline Dickinson, from Durham Police, told members that statistics showed 222 crimes and 108 incidents of anti-social behaviour were reported in a six month period within a 500m radius of the shop.

She added: “The spike in crime in that 500m radius happens between 9pm and 4am, with the peak at midnight. Ten per cent of those crimes are recorded as being alcohol related.

“The applicant is the only designated premises supervisor for the shop – if this is granted it would be open for 19 hours a day and he has said he will monitor every sale of alcohol, how is he realistically going to do that?”

The residents’ association did not send a representative to the meeting, but in a written submission said: “With another outlet for the sale of cheap drink the crime and disorder will increase and we as residents will suffer the consequences of this like damage to our properties and theft from our gardens and properties.”

In response, Mark Hall, speaking on behalf of Mr Sriskantharajah, said the applicant and his brother had a combined 22 years of selling alcohol and had “more than enough” experience of refusing sales of alcohol to youths and drunk people.

He added that the applicant’s brother was in the process of completing his personal licence course to allow him to also approve alcohol sales.

The three councillors sitting on the sub-committee, Tom Nutt, Lee Vasey and Fred Lawton, ruled that both the police and the residents’ association had failed to present enough evidence that crime would increase if the licensed hours were extended and allowed the application with conditions.

The applicant may not sell alcohol until after 11pm until he has installed a late-night serving hatch system agreed in writing by council officers; a personal licence holder must be present to authorise every sale of alcohol after 11pm; a minimum of two members of staff must be present after 11pm and no alcohol must be sold under its recommended retail price.