South Londoners who say they are already 'terrified' to walk home at night have slammed plans for a new off-licence in their neighbourhood. Residents claimed drunken behaviour in Tolworth is 'off the charts' and the decline of the area has been 'horrific' over the past decade, as they raised fears this will get worse if off-licence Simply opens on Ewell Road.

Simply would be allowed to sell booze between 7am and 11pm every day under the plans. Personal Licence Courses UK made the application to Kingston Council on behalf of Manpreet Singh Madhan, but a petition against the plans was signed by 106 people.

Neighbour Nimit Shah told the council's licensing committee on May 11 residents organised the petition due to "outrage, uproar, disappointment, you name it, to the detrimental and antisocial behaviour that this late-night off-licence could bring to our local community".

Having lived in Tolworth all his life, Mr Shah claimed he has "seen this place get worse" and crime increase.

He said: "As a guy, I'm pretty terrified to walk through this area when I'm coming back from work late at night because, having lived here, having made this commute every day, the street drinking and just the level of drunken behaviour is off the charts.

"I've had a guy abuse me once because I crossed the road, tried to avoid him, obviously steaming drunk and was told to go back to my own country. I'm a British citizen."

Penny Dee, who has lived in Tolworth for 53 years, said the "decline" of the area over the past decade is "nothing short of horrific". She said: "I, myself in a very close vicinity to the shop, I have ring doorbell footage, I have cameras all over my property, of people defecating in my front garden on a regular basis."

She added: "There's been a large response from the local area. We do not want this. The area is saturated with takeaway shops selling alcohol, it's too much. If you lived here, you'd see it everyday and every night. I can only come home in a cab, public transport and walking is not an option."

The application received 10 objection letters ahead of the meeting. One objector wrote: "There will be increased crime and disorder along with public safety as people are scared to walk in Tolworth at night now."

Conditions were added to the application, following initial concerns raised by the Met Police, including all staff being trained before being allowed to sell booze to the public. No objections were received from responsible authorities, including the police.

Licensing consultant Surendra Panchal, representing the applicant, said Mr Singh is experienced in running off licences and the application falls within the core hours of the council's licensing policy. Mr Panchal raised concerns the objections relate more closely to the need for an off-licence in the area, which is not a concern for the committee.

He said: "There will be no alcohol served to anybody who is drunk. That is something that my client understands with his experience of four years running premises previously, without having any breaches. He will make sure the premises is kept clean in front every morning before he opens and after the premises closes."

Responding to neighbours' concerns, Mr Panchal said Mr Singh "understands the Licensing Act very well" and would make sure he complied with all conditions – including training staff and keeping an incident log.

He said: "Mr Manpreet Singh is here to make sure he follows all of the licensing objectives. He robustly wants to promote them, which will be an advantage to his business."

He added: "There will be a lot of improvement in the area. There will be CCTV laid out, there will be lighting in front of the shop which will make sure the place is lit up. He will be making sure no street drinkers are served. He will be making sure no litter is going to be out there. He isn't going to be playing any music."

The committee's decision on the application will be published in the coming days.