New Seven Cellars branch could open at Brighton railway station

But a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing official objected to Louise Oliver’s application to open a branch of Seven Cellars at the station.

The licensing official, Sarah Cornell, said that the station was within an area of Brighton where council policy restricted new off-licences because of problems with drink-related crime and disorder.

So the council held a licensing panel hearing where three councillors were asked to decide whether the circumstances justified making an exception to the policy.

The meeting took place virtually on Friday morning.

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A technical problem with the council’s webcasting system meant that only the final 10 minutes of the meeting took place in public.

Mrs Oliver told the licensing panel that she had been in touch with Sussex Police and the British Transport Police (BTP) about her application.

She was an experienced licence holder and had agreed provisional licence conditions with Sussex Police which she hoped would be acceptable to the council.

She already runs the Seven Cellars off-licence in Dyke Road Brighton, at the Seven Dials.

Mrs Oliver said that the Marks and Spencer convenience store at the station already operated as an off-licence there.

There is already a Seven Cellars off-licence on Dyke Road

She said: “It’s a different offering (but) they don’t appear to experience any extra incidents as a result of being there.”

The BTP and station security staff were often visibly present, she said, while the station operator, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) was supportive of the business.

Sarah Cornell said that she had objected to the application because it went against the council’s policy.

She said that she had “no major concerns” about the application but it would fall to the panel to decide whether to grant a new premises licence for the old Cards Galore unit next to Superdrug.

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A report to councillors said: “It is intended to be a high-end fine wine shop with high-value fine wines, craft beers and craft spirits and it will be sensitively displayed with wooden shelving and some premium grade fridges.”

Mrs Oliver plans to offer a range that includes local wines, beers and spirits, with good-quality wooden shelving.

The unit would be open from 10am to 9pm every day, from a date yet to be fixed in the autumn, subject to the licence being granted.

The licensing panel retired to consider its decision which should be made public within five working days.