British supermarket giants Tesco have created fury amongst a community in Birmingham were the grocery retailers are planning to open an Express store selling alcohol.
Protestors have staged a rally against the off-licence being opened in an area where no shops have sold alcohol for more than 100 years after the community was built by Quakers.
Organisers asked people to sign a petition against the plans for the store on Linden Road in Bournville.
There are concerns that the opening of the store could lead to anti-social behaviour, ruining the quiet area.
Head of the campaign, Peter Jordan, said, “We’ve never had and we don’t want the ready availability of alcohol to young people.”
“The evidence suggests that young people buy the alcohol and they find the green areas of Bournville as an easy place to congregate, so they can bring all their anti-social behaviour in to this beautiful part of Birmingham,” he added.
A Tesco spokeswoman responded by saying, “This store is outside of the alcohol restricted zone. Alcohol will be a small part of the offering to customers. Opening the store is about giving choice to customers and extending the offering to them.”
The next fortnight will be crucial for Tesco’s plans as the Birmingham City Council’s licensing authority are scheduled to meet and come to a final decision on the store.
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