SANDHURST residents who have been reportedly woken up by 'machete attacks and street fights' are rallying against a plan to allow a petrol station to sell booze 24/7.
Neighbours of the Shell garage on Yorktown Road say they already have to put up with noise and disturbance coming from the site, which is open all hours.
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One resident, who lives nearby, claimed they have been kept awake by:
- An employee allegedly being attacked by a machete at 2.15am
- Staff reportedly arguing in the street at 3.30am
- A bike being supposedly stolen from the site at 2.45am
The neighbour commented: “We just can’t believe that in a residential area this amount of disruption is allowed to continue, so to encourage even more people in by selling liquor 24 hours a day seems absolutely ludicrous.
“This garage should never have been allowed to open 24 hours a day in a built-up residential area and it just comes down to financial greed and no respect for the occupants of the houses all around them.”
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Four other neighbours voiced their concerns about the proposal, which would extend the hours customers can buy alcohol from the current permitted times of 6am to 11pm.
Another resident pointed out how close the Shell station is to nearby pubs.
They wrote: “The garage is situated on a road between pubs so those walking home are likely to drop in to purchase items on the way home making more noise and potentially fuel antisocial behaviour.
“You need to give serious consideration to those residents in the immediate and surrounding area that will be severely affected by this.”
Others questioned why the plan was being considered when a Tesco Extra store just 1.6 miles away also operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Thames Valley Police was asked if its officers had any concerns about the plan, but added no objection.
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The force did, however, agree with Shell managers booze would only be allowed to be sold through the night pay window from 11pm to 5.30am.
A Bracknell Forest Council licensing panel will decide on the proposal at a meeting on Tuesday, March 10.
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