Caversham fuel station could have 24 hour drinks sales

The Henley Road fuel station, officially called the Leander Service Station, provides BP fuel with its store being run by Londis.

The owning company of the Leander station, the Motor Fuel Group, has applied to sell alcohol, food and refreshments 24 hours a day.

Currently, alcohol, food and soft drinks can only be sold from 6am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and  7am to 11pm Sunday according to its existing premises licence.

Now the Motor Fuel Group has submitted a licensing application to Reading Borough Council to sell alcohol and hot food 24 hours a day.

While the operators have planning consent from the council to be open 24 hours, that is not currently reflected in the premises licence, which is needed to sell alcohol and food and drinks between 11pm to 5am each night.

A statutory consultation into the licensing application is running. You can comment by emailing licensing@reading.gov.uk.

The closing date for representations is Wednesday, October 30.

The extended sales hours would be another upgrade to the Leander Service Station, with a plan being approved in March last year that added five electric vehicle charging bays to the site.

Approved changes for electric vehicle charging at the BP Fuel Station in Henley Road, Caversham. Credit: MBH Design Studio

There is also an approved plan to fully replace the existing building and filling station, and allow for it to remain 24 hours a day.

The project, which you can view by typing reference 230023 into the council's planning portal was approved in August last year.