A new corner shop has been given permission to sell alcohol despite claims it will be a boon to village “yobs”.

The convenience store in Hextable, near Swanley, had been subject to a petition by a rival business which had collected more than 300 signatures calling for the licencing bid to be blocked.

It comes after Sevenoaks council received an application from Sutharsan Arunthavarasa to sell alcohol out of Malyon’s House, a disused property on College Road.

Seeking to open the derelict building as a convenience store, dubbed Malyon’s Superstore, he asked the authority for a licence to sell alcohol from 6am until 11pm.

However, the bid received a slew of objections - with 38 letters sent to the licensing team, and a petition started by Ajnoop Pal Singh Purewal, owner of the nearby Best One convenience store, garnering 306 signatures.

The petition says “we are concerned that if licenced the store will lead to an increase in noise, loitering, litter and other nuisances that will disrupt the daily lives of nearby residents.

“We believe that denying this licence is in the best interests of our community,” it adds.

… He’s never failed a test purchase or had any complaints about him

Councillors, the business and residents met at a meeting of the district council’s licensing sub-committee on November 28 to hash out the details.

Gill Sherratt, of consultancy Licensing Matters, told the committee on behalf of Mr Arunthavarasa they were asking for “perfectly standard hours for a convenience store of this nature”.

On the opening hours, she explained: “Not a lot of people are going to buy alcohol at 6am, the reason that we ask for 6am is a legal reason because if we don’t get the matching hours with alcohol and opening, we then have the additional pressure and burden of covering all that alcohol.

“He [the owner] has worked in retail and sold alcohol for many years, he’s managed 24-hour forecourts which sold alcohol since 2010,” she continued.

“He’s sold not only alcohol but cigarettes, lottery tickets, without any problems – he’s never failed a test purchase or had any complaints about him.”

Ms Sherratt explained that her client would be investing “about £100,000” in the premises, and hiring staff locally.

She also hit back at Mr Purewal’s petition, saying: “You have a local retailer who’s probably been banging the drum and generating a lot of causes of concern behind the scenes – you’ve seen the petition.”

The petition was “designed for only one purpose and that is to protect their business against a new incoming business,” she argued.

“It’s artificial concerns and negative points so they can stop this new business coming in.”

Clive Cownley, who lives very near the planned shop, attended the meeting to speak against the licensing bid.

“If you look very closely at that building you will see an alleyway running at the back of the premises – and that’s got a small brick wall,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what time of the year whether it’s winter or summer, you’ll get the local pond life sitting on that wall.”

He added: “We have an Asda 0.9 miles away that sells a huge amount of alcohol, we have a Morrisons that sells alcohol, we have another shop that sells alcohol.

“Do we really need another shop? Are we saying that people in Hextable are drinkers?”

His wife Christine Cownley expressed similar sentiments, telling the sub-committee: “Why do we need more alcohol? It makes the whole village sound like we’re all drunks.

“There’s already plenty of alcohol being sold, it does cause a problem with the shops already there, yobs hanging around there holding it, they ask other people to buy it and then they stand outside on the walls and cause damage.”

Hextable Parish Council also objected, with Cllr Chrissy Hudson attending to tell the sub-committee: “Hextable village is a low crime area I would say and we are proud of that.

“But we believe this is broadly because we are a village that doesn’t have any significant night-time economy.”

However, the licensing sub-committee decided to approve the licence as requested, with the chairman, Cllr Alan Leaman (Lib Dem) adding: “We support the installation of CCTV both inside and outside the premises which is currently vacant and a possible site for antisocial behaviour.”