A new off-licence has been given the go-ahead to open at a former gym from early in the morning to midnight every day.

The new Prime Food off licence will trade from the former Bodypro Personal Fitness site on Chorley New Road in Horwich.

It was granted the right to sell alcohol from 7am to midnight, Monday to Sunday at a licencing hearing at Bolton Town Hall, despite concerns raised about its closeness to several pubs.

Tony Clarke, agent for owner Karwan Mustafa, said: “We believe it’s a fair and robust set up of conditions that we’ve applied for.”

He added: “We’ve gone slightly into the midnight hours, but we feel that the size of the area should support the application.”

The Bolton News: The hearing took place at Bolton Town HallThe hearing took place at Bolton Town Hall (Image: Newsquest)

An objection to the proposal had been centred around the closeness of the new off licence to several other pubs in the area, which they feared could spark anti-social behaviour, which had been highlighted in a council report.

But at the licencing hearing at Bolton Town Hall, chaired by Cllr Sean Fielding with Cllr Maureen Flitcroft and Cllr Debbie Newall, no one spoke to voice these objections.

Mr Clarke pointed out that the shop would be “round the corner”, rather than opposite a pub as opponents had originally claimed.

He also said that the owners would have a CCTV system in place with cameras covering the entrance and exit, with two other external cameras.

There would also be other measures including an incident log book and proof of age training for staff.

In response to a question put by Cllr Newall, of Kearsley, about a possible fire inspection, Mr Clarke said that he hoped this would be dealt with after the shop had opened.

Responding to Cllr Flitcroft, of Farnworth South, he said that the owners would hope to keep to the same opening hours every day of the week.

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Mr Clarke said: “They want a sign outside the door that says the same hours every day.”

Taking a question from Cllr Fielding, of Breightmet, on the off licence’s closeness to several pubs around Chorley New Road, Mr Clarke said he believed it could prove to be complementary.

He said: “A pub with an off licence supporting it would be OK in my opinion.”

Ultimately the committee decided to approve the bid with the 7am to midnight, Monday to Sunday hours as applied for.