A controversial Dundee off-sales application has been withdrawn after the applicants said their intentions were being misconstrued.
Juveria and Misba Ahmed’s bid to sell alcohol at the new convenience store they are opening in Strathmore Avenue received 55 objections from local people.
Seven people openly supported the plan which was to go before Dundee licensing board next week, but Mr Ahmed said the protests have forced them to step back.
His wife Juveria wrote to the city council explaining that without prejudice to her right to reapply, she was withdrawing the application for the former Strathmore Interiors and Exteriors premises.
She went on to allege that a neighbouring business had been misguiding people by suggesting that the Strathmore Avenue site will be purely a liquor shop and not a convenience store.
“This is not true. It will be a convenience store and a small portion of it will be used for alcohol,” she insisted.
“I want to gain public confidence and start a convenience store and file my application very soon,” she added.
More than 40 of the letters of objection submitted to councillors follow two main formats, have similar wording and appear to be the product of the same person or persons.
The letters said there were too many off-licence shops in the area and they were causing trouble in the vicinity. They said there was also limited car parking and two schools, whose pupils may be tempted by availability of alcohol.
Mr Ahmed alleged that the neighbouring shop had offered the letters to customers who had simply been required to sign them and send them to the council.
The shopkeeper he named as the person behind the campaign yesterday denied involvement. He said he had no opinion on the off-sales issue but he understood residents objected to it on health and safety grounds and for the sake of the community.
Mr Ahmed and his wife also run the Dens Road Superstore and say the Strathmore Avenue business would operate in a similar manner.
“Dens Road is a convenience store of which alcohol sales are a small part and the new business would be no different,” he said.
“When we opened Dens Road we didn’t have an off-sales licence but we decided to get one and have had no problems with it in terms of its effect on the community.
“We see the new store as a business opportunity that will offer a service where it is needed. We are in discussions with a well-known convenience store chain about becoming one of their agents and these discussions are ongoing.”
The application comes against a backdrop of concern that Dundee has too many off-sales premises.
The Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership was disappointed last month that the council granted alcohol permits to three premises.
The DADP think Dundee’s community regeneration areas are being blighted by the high number of off-sales shops.
Their report on over provision says off-sales shops outnumber pubs and clubs in three of these areas, and their existence contributes to poor health and lawless behaviour.
The partnership does not recommend a limit on the number of pubs, clubs and off-sales establishments. The group of police, health board, council and special interest representatives, say that the board has “the ability and responsibility to contribute to a shift towards a healthier relationship with alcohol in Dundee”.