Fashion retailer Matalan is now able to sell alcohol at its Shrewsbury store until midnight six days a week following a decision by licensing chiefs.

Bosses say the move is to allow it to sell gift items over Christmas which include alcohol. The store says it needs the licence to sell gifts such as liquor chocolates and mini-bottles of whisky and other alcohol with gifts such as glasses.

Matalan, in Brixton Way, Harlescott, had applied for the premises licence to sell alcohol from 6am to midnight seven days a week as part of an application to open from the same hours.

But members of Shropshire Council’s area licensing sub committee central yesterday asked for the Sunday licensable hours to be changed from 6am until midnight to 10am until 6pm.

Councillors Peter Adams, Tony Durnell and Keith Roberts otherwise agreed the licence could go ahead as proposed by the company.

Mal Arthur-Lee, deputy manager at the store, said the licence would be purely used for selling gift items over Christmas that would include alcohol.

He said: “We’ve never sold anything like that before and it’s the first year we have applied for a licence to sell these kinds of products.

“It would be for this Christmas but it may well be that afterwards it could be for seasonal periods.”

A report to councillors says crime, disorder and nuisance will be prevented through a number of ways including digital CCTV cameras which will be operating during the hours when alcohol would be sold. Recordings will be made available to police and other agencies including the council.

Point of sale notices will also be displayed advising that any person who appears under the age of 25 will be asked for proof of age.

No objections were raised about the application by police, fire or Shropshire Council, departments of environmental health, trading standards and children and young peoples’ services.

By Russell Roberts