More booze has been allowed to be stocked in a Dumbarton petrol station – despite an objection from the health board.
Dunglass service station has undergone a £500,000 revamp which has seen the retail area double in size.
Motor Fuel Limited, which operates the premises, applied to West Dunbartonshire Council to increase the size of its alcohol section as a result.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Public Health tried to block the bid, saying there are already too many premises selling alcohol in the area.
They said the application went against the council’s overprovision policy, which makes it more difficult for licences to be granted due to an oversaturation of licensed premises within communities affected by alcohol abuse.
Speaking at a licensing meeting last week, Daniel Carter, of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Public Health, said: “This is a very large increase in an area of designated overprovision of alcohol retail.
“In the intermediate zone area, the rate of alcohol-related emergency admissions is nearly 40 percent higher than the national average.
“The rate of alcohol-related brain damage is much higher than the national average and the rate of alcohol-related deaths, although it’s historically been lower than the national average, has increased over time so that it’s now higher than the national average.
“It’s our view that allowing a further increase in off sales capacity will only exacerbate and add to existing harms.
“We know that off-sales are a source of alcohol supply for those who are dependents. The application is inconsistent with the licensing objective in protecting and improving public health.”
The licence previously held allowed the premises to have up 12.87 square metres of alcohol but it only used 4.2 square metres.
The new licence will see the store quadruple its offering to 16.11 square metres.
Agent Andrew Hunter said the health board objection was “very general”, with the shop improvements being of benefit to the community.
He said: “I am concious of your overprovision policy.
“There’s no doubt that this is a substantially larger convenience store and a much improved one.
“The NHS objection is very general and there’s no issue about the conduct of the premises.
“There’s been a significant renovation of the retail shop.
“It’s an investment of just over half a million which increased the retail shop space by 133 percent and brought in various changes to the food and grocery offering at the Londis convenience store.
“They have taken on one additional member of staff and they are trying to take on a further two.
“This is a substantial investment in these premises which is of benefit to the local community.”
Councillors unanimously approved the bid, with council leader Jonathan McColl saying the overprovision policy does not prevent modernisation of premises.
He said: “I’ve been part of the licensing board that put the original policy in place.
“The policy was never meant to tie our hands and prevent premises from modernising and making the experience better for customers.
“We put the policy in place to stop huge expansion to stop a significant threat to public health and stop lots of other new premises opening up.
“It’s a store that has historically sold alcohol. I don’t believe that they are offering anything here which is going to be a significant risk to public health.”
