A newsagent has been given permission to sell alcohol along a parade of shops, despite community concerns about youth drinking.

A Martin McColl store in Central Parade, New Addington, was granted a licence to sell alcohol between 6am and 10pm every day at a Croydon Council licensing sub-committee on Wednesday despite concerns from residents and community group New Addington Pathfinders.

Worries centred around the number of young people who already loiter around the parade of shops asking people to buy alcohol for them.

Pathfinders also pointed out there were six existing stores that sold alcohol in Central Parade, and another McColl store 10 minutes away has an alcohol licence.

Marian Burchell, from Pathfinders said: “You cannot walk from one end of Central Parade to the other without seeing children asking passersby to buy them alcohol and intimidating them.

“I myself have been asked but refused.”

She pointed to a £10,000 grant given by Baroness Newlove to the area to fight youth drinking as a sign of how bad the problem is.

She said: “This flies in the face of what Baroness Newlove and Croydon Council are trying to achieve.”

Defending the application David Crank pointed out there was no policy against more than one shop selling alcohol in the area, and offered to set up CCTV in the shop to monitor outdoors as well.

He also agreed to reduce the hours of sale from 6am to 11pm, to 6am to 10pm. The committee granted the licence with these conditions.