AN ALCOHOL delivery business has secured a licence to operate into the early hours of the morning despite objections from neighbours.

Grapevine Amusements Ltd’s application to Southampton City Council was described as “ill-considered” and “poorly thought out” by residents.

The company’s directors said they wanted to work with the community.

Following a lengthy hearing, members of the licensing sub-committee granted the application for the Henty Road business, which operates as Ondrop.

The applicant’s initial proposal was for the licensable activity of supplying alcohol from 9am to 5am every day.

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Directors Jed Cook and Daniel Palmer amended their application at the sub-committee meeting on Wednesday, April 17.

The approved premises licence will allow the business to operate from 8pm to 2am on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and 8pm to 5am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Ondrop could use temporary event notices to operate on other occasions that fall outside these hours, such as bank holidays and New Year’s Eve.

Millbrook ward councillors and more than 30 residents submitted written objections to the application.

Conservative councillor Jeremy Moulton told the sub-committee he believed the unit, which was described as a “wooden shed”, would be a magnet for potential thieves.

Cllr Christian Cox, Labour, said he was concerned about how lone drivers would implement a Challenge 25 policy.

Residents said they were worried about anti-social behaviour, crime, noise disturbance, delivery drivers dealing with drunk or underage customers and the potential expansion of the business.

Police and environmental health were not opposed, having agreed conditions with the applicant in advance of the meeting.

The company directors said they had on-site CCTV at the unit and a secure gate, which would be locked when they were not present.

Orders will be taken through the company’s website, as well as third-party platforms like Deliveroo and Uber Eats.

Ondrop will employ its own e-bike drivers, who receive training and deliver directly to residential addresses within three kilometres of the premises.

Mr Palmer said: “We want to work with the residents. We are not here to cause problems. The idea of us creating this was merely to create a business and something for ourselves on top of our jobs."

He said the business did not plan on being at the unit for very long, describing it as the “first step in a long journey for us”.

The sub-committee acknowledged the “genuine concerns” of residents, but said there was “no evidence of a real risk of a breach of the licensing objectives”.