Senator Raymond Tannock will not know for another week whether his 24-hour gas station is permitted to sell cases of beer.

The Liquor Licensing Board discussed on Friday whether or not the Esso Automarket on Par-La-Ville Road in Hamilton should be able to sell beer, but then adjourned the matter for a week for a site visit to be held.

But lawyer Ray DeSilva, who was acting on behalf of a number of businesses in the vicinity, said he was opposing the licence on the grounds that the surrounding area could be affected.

He said businesses were concerned about litter and trash being left behind, and about young people buying cases of beer and then sitting off nearby to drink it. He said the fact that Esso had stipulated that individual bottles of beer would not be sold had gone some way to alleviating fears, but he questioned whether a change to the initial licence would follow in six months.

"My clients see this as the thin end of the wedge and they don't want trash and the like from some activity," said Mr. DeSilva. He suggested that if the licence was granted, an additional condition be added that workers at the gas station make sure all trash in the area be cleared up if it had originated from Esso. But Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves asked Mr. DeSilva why the Esso Automarket was any different to other stores that sold alcohol in the town. He said if MarketPlace was in a different location on Church Street to where it is now, would it have any impact on whether it could sell beer?

But Mr. DeSilva said: "People at MarketPlace are buying beer as part of their groceries." He said people at the gas station stopped by for gas or maybe even just a chocolate bar or snack.

Mr. Greaves added: "Surely you are aware that MarketPlace runs the biggest convenience store in Bermuda. People go in there to buy a sandwich or a little container of food." He said they could quite easily buy beer with their snack, if they wished.

And the lawyer responded: "Yes, but they are not driven by wanting gas."

And Mr. DeSilva said it was the location of the gas station, and the fact that it was in the heart of businesses, that it made it so different from other stores selling beer. The panel adjourned to discuss the matter and returned with the decision that a site visit should be held to see where the beer will be kept.

The issue will be raised again at Magistrates' Court next Friday. Lawyer Mark Pettingill acted for Sen. Tannock.