Alcohol isn't sold to anyone who's intoxicated, says the garage company's operations manager
16:01, 15 Jan 2026
A garage opposite a park in Ammanford can now stay open all night and sell alcohol. Park Street Garage, which has a Londis shop and Texaco fuel forecourt, has previously been allowed to stay open and sell alcohol between 6am and 11pm seven days a week.
Its operator, VST Forecourts Ltd, applied to Carmarthenshire Council for a premises licence allowing a 24/7 operation. A representative from the company addressed a council licensing sub-committee to say staff challenged anyone who looked under 25 to show identification if they tried to buy alcohol.
He also said alcohol wasn't sold to alcoholics and that there was a log detailing refusals, plus a CCTV camera covering the shop's interior and exterior. Stay informed on Carms news by signing up to our newsletter here
Cllr Mansel Charles asked how staff would know if customers were alcoholics, to which the representative replied: "We can easily recognise those who are already intoxicated." He added: "We never sell alcohol to them."
Cllr Michelle Beer asked if staff had experienced issues when they'd turned down people's requests for alcohol.
The VST Forecourts representative said staff told customers "clearly and politely" in such instances and that the customers would say "okay" and leave.
Cllr Beer also asked why it was felt suitable to sell alcohol 24/7 in a residential area. The representative said customers would be able to buy other things like milk or medication late at night rather than having to travel to Cross Hands.
He added that a lot of people in the area worked late shifts. A council legal officer said "issues of need" were not a relevant consideration for the sub-committee.
There was a written objection to VST Forecourts's application from Betws councillor Betsan Jones, who said the garage was opposite Betws Park and that she wouldn't want to see people drink there overnight.
Her objection added: "People who want to buy alcohol outside normal licensing hours would probably have a drinking problem and this could encourage drink driving in the area." Cllr Jones said she didn't object to the garage being open all hours more generally as a new McDonald's restaurant nearby had been granted a 24/7 licence.
An Ammanford resident also objected in writing, saying she was a working single parent whose life was blighted by an alcoholic and his associates living close-by.
Approving the 24/7 application, she said, would make it easier for them to buy alcohol. "At least with the closest place (to buy alcohol) being Cross Hands, it means when their benefits have run out they can't afford to get taxis there," she said.
The VST Forecourts representative said he sympathised with the concerns but said there was no evidence connecting them with the operation of the business.
Dyfed-Powys Police did not object as the operators had agreed to incorporate additional conditions it requested. These include a minimum of two staff members being on duty between 11pm and 6am.
The sub-committee retired to consider the evidence and granted the 24/7 licence, which also allows hot drinks and heated-up food to be served in the early hours. Its decision report said councillors were "of the view that no real evidence had been presented demonstrating any link between alcohol sales at the premises and alcohol-related crime and disorder in the vicinity".