Many Parishioners have been in touch with the Parish Council regarding the licensing application for The Tile House (what was the Cook Shop). You can view details of the application here – 26/00894/LAPRE | New Premises Licence | Open for Consultation | Cook The Tile House Easebourne Lane Easebourne Midhurst West Sussex GU29 9AZ

The Council has listened to concerns, discussed and submitted an objection as a result. You can read the submission below. If you would like to let Chichester District Council know what you think, the consultation is open until 23rd July, just follow the above link, go to the comments tab and click on “Make a comment”.

Easebourne Parish Council strongly objects to this licensing application for several reasons. Multiple concerns have been raised by Parishioners, which the Council shares.

There is no requirement for an additional alcohol or tobacco products/vapes retailer in this rural village. The M&S food store at the BP garage directly opposite sells these items and is open from 6.30am until 10pm daily. The Village Shop on Easebourne Street also sells the same items and there are several retailers a short walk away in Midhurst. The applicant has not demonstrated why additional vape, tobacco product and alcohol availability is necessary in a village that is already served by two outlets within a five minute walk and more within ten minutes.

The Parish Council believes that the four statutory objectives of the Licensing Act 2003 have not been met by this application.

• Prevention of Crime and Disorder – there is a limited police presence in this small rural village, the Parish Council believes that having an additional licensed premises will increase enforcement pressure (unnecessarily, as the shop is surplus to requirements) and will increase the cumulative risk of crime and disorder. These types of convenience stores are nationally known to be common targets for shoplifting, robberies and underage purchases. There are already issues with crime, with the garage opposite being targeted regularly by thieves (the most recent of these occurrences in the last month). The Licensing Act requires the applicant to demonstrate how they will reduce crime risk, which is missing from this application.
• Public Safety – there is no easily available parking other than within the garage opposite. On street parking is always busy, as the residents of Easebourne Lane generally do not have driveways or designated spaces. The Parish Council believes that users of this shop will park on the garage forecourt and cross over the busy road without a safe crossing point, creating a safety issue. The applicant has not demonstrated how public safety risks will be mitigated.
• Prevention of Public Nuisance – the addition of a third convenience retailer is likely to increase littering, loitering and noise in a densely populated residential area. The applicant has not provided sufficient controls to prevent this.
• Protection of Children from Harm – the cumulative availability of vapes, tobacco products and alcohol in a small village setting increases exposure to and normalising of such products for children. This shop is on a popular route for children walking to the local secondary school in the neighbouring parish and there is a primary school and playground nearby. The Licensing Act requires applicants to demonstrate robust measures to protect children from harm which are not evident in this application.

On this basis, the Parish Council strongly objects to this application and urges the District Council to reject this and any future similar applications for this unsuitable location.

The Regulation 19 Consultation on the South Downs Local Plan Proposed Submission has now closed.

Over the last few weeks, the Parish Council has spoken to many residents on the matter, at our public meeting at the beginning of the month, over email and in person. We then took all of those views and used them to form the basis for our comments, which we submitted to SDNPA earlier this week. You can download and read the final piece by clicking here.

Thank you to all of those who have shared their opinions and comments with us, we’ve seen really high community engagement, which has been absolutely amazing!