A petition signed by more than 150 people has been lodged in objection to unauthorised roller shutters on a new off-licence.
Hemen Ahmed has submitted a retrospective planning application for the crime prevention measure at Fantasia, in Bourne Road, Spalding. But nearby residents say when the orange shutters are down they have a negative effect on the area.
Petition organiser Shelley Howells said: “They are just an eyesore. It makes it look rough and tacky around here.”
Shelley works at nearby shop Ball’s News but says the competition which Fantasia created is not an issue.
“It’s fair trading and we have no problem with that,” she said. “This is about something which lowers the look of the neighbourhood and has been done without permission.”
Lincolnshire Police has no formal objection to the planning application, but crime prevention design adviser John Manuel told South Holland District Council: “Under normal circumstances I would not insist on this level of security unless the specific risk to these premises was such that this…was required which might reflect the value of goods on site or other mitigating factors.”
Ward district councillor Angela Newton said: “Are the owners giving the impression it’s a rundown area?”
Coun Newton objected to the granting of a premises licence earlier this year, partially on the grounds of highway safety.
