FEARS of binge drinking and anti-social behaviour in the town when the new licensing laws come into force later this year have been played down, despite many of Haslemere's pubs and shops applying for longer opening hours for the sale of alchohol. Neither Somerfield in West Street nor the Co-op in Lion Green have applied for an extensions to their licences. Tesco in Wey Hill, which trades 24 hours a day, has applied for an extension to the hours during which it is allowed to sell alcohol. If its application is granted, Tesco will be able to sell alcohol from the time it opens at 8 am on Monday, right through the week, between 6 am to midnight and until it closes at 10 pm on Saturday. Its Sunday opening hours are unchanged. "Most alcohol is sold as part of the family weekly shop," said a Tesco spokesman. "We do take our responsibility as retailers very seriously and have done a lot of work to address alcohol misuse." The spokesman said that the supermarket had also come up with a new Tesco initiative called "Think 21". Although the minimum age for buying alcohol is 18, the spokesman said that Tesco staff are trained to ask the age of anyone who looks under 21. They are then asked to provide proof of their age. "We wouldn't sell alcohol to anybody already under the influence and we do take the issues seriously," said the spokesman. Last month, the White Horse Hotel in Haslemere High Street was granted an application for extended opening hours, when the new rules come in on November 24, allowing it to serve food and alcohol until 11-30 pm from Sunday to Wednesday, and up to midnight on Thursdays to Saturdays, with half- an-hour for "drinking-up" time. The Mayor of Haslemere, Michael Dover, speaking personally on the effects that the new licences could make said: "The law is the law and any changes are there to be lived with. Mr Dover said he was sure that the council's view was that it would want to appeal to all those people who are retailers to exercise good judgement and be fairly intolerant of people who don't. "If certain statutory powers are devolved to our level, certainly in terms of anti-social behaviour, as a council we would want to take a more active role to ensure the community is looked after. "We are at the coal face and working closely with the new police inspector, Graham Weaver, whom we rate very highly," he said. "I do appeal to people to use their common sense and good judgement." Each application for a licence is considered on its merits, said a spokesman for Waverley Borough Council. Unless a person who lives in the vicinity or a relevant authority makes a representation, they are deemed to be granted," said the spokesman, as Waverley ploughs through some 400 applications for the new licences. The new rules come after local councils were given the responsibility for licensing premises that sell alcohol or late-night hot food or stage public entertainment. This task was formerly undertaken by magistrates' courts. The spokesman said that by the licences application's August 6 deadline, Waverley had received about 20 per cent less than it had expected. It is now too late for any previous licences to be converted to the meet the new rules and applicants must now apply for a new licence. Across the border in East Hampshire, pubs, clubs, community centres, supermarkets, shops and traders, who missed the deadline, can still get help from East Hampshire District Council. Those who have not applied for new licences will "be trading illegally and will be closed down" on November 24. A police spokesman said: "Surrey Police has reviewed each individual application in regards to appropriateness and the history of the premises. "Under the new act (Licensing Act 2003) Surrey Police has the ability to request a review of any licence granted should the extended liquor trading impact on the community. The police is one of a number of agencies which can object, as can any member of the public." • A recent "under-age sales" campaign targeted at West Sussex retailers has revealed a steep rise this year in the number of incidents where young people under the age of 18 were illegally sold alcohol. The report by West Sussex trading standards says that of the 55 checks carried out so far this year, nearly 24 per cent had resulted in under-age sales. West Sussex trading standards chief Patrick Bligh- Cheeseman said: "In every case so far this year, the under-age sales of alcohol have been made by an employee rather than the licensee. This seems to indicate that retailers are not paying enough attention to staff training and insisting that their employees ask to see proof of age."
