RESIDENTS of a Winchester street have raised concerns about a service station starting to sell alcohol after a change of operator.

The BP garage on St Cross Road has been taken over by the owner of a "forecourt empire" who intends to turn its shop into a Londis convenience store, which could include an off-licence.

Takita Blinden, 32, of St Cross Road, told the Chronicle she feared the new shop would make problems with tenants in  the nearby  city council-owned Forder Court.

She said: "I don’t think it would be good. A lot of riff-raff live in the building, a lot of drinkers and drug abusers. I wouldn’t say it’s a positive thing."

READ MORE: Police oppose petrol station's plans

The BP garage on St Cross Road, which is soon to become a Londis (Image: Sebastian Haw)

The new operator, Visvanathan Yoganathan, whose company JP&S Services owns a number of service stations with Londis in the Midlands, confirmed that the BP shop will close on Sunday, August 18, for five weeks of renovations before reopening as a Londis store .

However, he has not so far confirmed whether the site will sell alcohol or until what hour it will stay open. Most of his other Londis have licences to sell alcohol into the evening.

Shannon Pain, 29, of St Cross Road, believes the issues at Forder Court would be exacerbated if certain residents had easier access to alcohol.

"I think it would be worse because there are a lot of unstable people who live there," she said. "We can’t even use the garden [because of the behaviour of some of the other tenants]. One lady has an XL Bully. It’s dangerous for kids."

She added: "I think it wouldn’t be a very good thing if it’s anything like the Londis down on Bar End Road."

One St Cross resident, who asked not to be named, feels that the sale has been intentionally hidden from locals to avoid the possibility of protests.

She said: "Naturally the residents of St Cross Road are not too happy with this news which has been carefully kept under wraps. We would have preferred an M&S or quality outlet. We fought against alcohol sales at the garage some years ago, which is maybe why the news of the sale has been so carefully concealed."

READ MORE: Licensing policy is clearly inadequate

Despite local fears surrounding the potential off-licence, residents were not completely negative about the new shop. Shannon welcomed the prospect of having a wider choice of food: "It would have milk, bread and more things than the shop has currently."

Takita used to work at the garage as a shop assistant, and was positive about the environment created at the store by the workers.

"We like the people who work there," she said, adding that she was glad the staff would be kept on by the new owner.

These positive reflections were echoed by another St Cross resident, Jonathan Talbot-Weiss, who lives opposite the BP garage.

He said: "I don’t have a problem with it. I think if they do basic groceries it would be fantastic – there are a lot of people who would be able to walk to the store instead of driving."