A NEW supermarket was granted permission to sell alcohol until midnight.

Woody Supermarket, which will soon take over Len's Shoe Repairs at 137 High Road, South Woodford, has been granted permission to sell alcohol from 8am until midnight.

Residents are not convinced it is the right decision despite business owner Cengiz Karatas changing the original application, which was to sell alcohol untl 2am.

Lily Brooks, of Malford Grove, objected.

She said: "From the perspective of someone who has lived in the area for a long time it is a sad compromise.

"Now we do not have a healthy balance between the amount of retail shops we have and places to buy food and drink, it's not healthy for the local economy.

"We have enough drinking places and places to buy drink so it's a shame."

The original application was for permission to sell booze from 8am to midnight from Sunday to Thursday and from 8am to 2am on Friday and Saturday.

Residents started up a petition and wrote to the council to object to the late licence as they claimed it would lead to an increase in nuisance in the area.

Richard Hoskins, councillor for Church End Ward, was another objector and he spoke at the licensing hearing last Thursday, September 9.

He told the Guardian: "I would have preferred it to have been 11pm but it is an improvement on 2am.

"I think the business won't last as it will be very competitive there with other stores around it.

"There is the worry that if the business changes hands then it will have the licence to sell alcohol up until 12am.

"It was a fair hearing but it is difficult for objectors because you cannot point to things that have gone wrong in the past.

"The police and neighbourhood watch group were happy with it so we will have to hope it doesn't lead to any problems."