iomtoday understands that Tesco plans to submit another application for an alcohol licence for a proposed Express store in Castletown.
The local authority met representatives of the store in private last Thursday (June 13) to discuss another bid by the store to get an alcohol licence for the Express store it wants to open in the town’s Callow’s Yard.
Tesco has previously said it is ‘considering resubmitting an alcohol licence’.
The authority asked if the store would like the meeting held in public or private. The store replied it would like the meeting in private. The town’s commissioners’ chairman Kevin Weir said: ‘We gave them the choice.’
After Thursday’s meeting, Mr Weir would not comment on the meeting, but he said: ‘We have agreed to say we have met with them and it is ongoing. I said if any statements are to be made, it would be down to them. The company said the only statement they would make, if asked, is it’s ongoing.’
Mr Weir added: ‘It is pretty imminent that we will hear soon.’
The store first announced it had plans to open an Express store in Callow’s Yard in November 2011, so creating 20 jobs.
However, two bids to secure an alcohol licence – in April and October 2012 – failed.
The court said it was not satisfied there was a need for another licensed premises in the town. Tesco commissioned Ashgrove Marketing to carry out a survey to assess alcohol shopping in the south and submitted its findings to the second hearing in October. However, the court said the survey was not ‘credible evidence’, due to ‘limited circulation’ and it did not ask the direct question whether there was a need for an additional licence.
The court was ‘shocked’ at the ratio of alcohol licences to residents in the area (one to 80 households in Castletown and Malew and one off licence per 519 Castletown residents).