A woman has won a battle with neighbours to launch her own gin-making company - from her garden shed.

Kathryn Dean had started the business in memory of her late father who had been gifted a unique gin recipe originally concocted to fend off malaria in India.

But dozens of residents raised objections against her bid to operate The Sin of Gin from her garden shed at her home on Elmdon Road, Selly Park.

They told a Birmingham City Council licensing sub committee yesterday (Monday, January 21), that the business could potentially attract disorder and in particular criminals who may access neighbouring properties to target the shed.

Elmdon Road in Selly Park.
Elmdon Road in Selly Park.

Next door neighbour Alan Duxbury said: "You can't say an alcohol business won't attract crime.

"Thieves do operate in the area, there are ongoing crime issues."

He added: "Having a business like this next door, although very small, is a great concern."

Fellow residents from the Selly Park Property Owners' Association (SPPOA) also raised objections about potential deliveries, whether the business would expand to become a bigger operation and the possibility of other similar enterprises springing up out of houses.

Mrs Dean described The Sin of Gin as a 'tiny artisan operation' that had grown out of a hobby.

She said: "I can well understand the concerns that have been raised, but I suspect that those concerns may be because of the very limited information that was supplied in the application.

"I hope that when it becomes clear how I intend to run my tiny business, and what that business involves, people will see that their concerns are misplaced."

Photo from The Sin of Gin Facebook page

She explained that no members of the public would be permitted at her home and that all transactions would be handled through an online website.

Mrs Dean continued saying she would only receive one delivery every three months and that she would either deliver orders herself or take them to a UPS collection point, similar to dropping them off at a post office.

Her late father, a Presbyterian Minister from Northern Ireland, received an original recipe by one of his parishioners, a 94-year-old widow named Constance.

Constance had come up with it when living in India in the late 19th Century while her husband served in the army.

Gin was thought to ward of malaria but she didn't like the taste so infused it with different ingredients.

Constance eventually passed on the recipe to Mrs Dean's father as a thank you for conducting a funeral.

He went on to produce it in small quantities particularly to drink at Christmas time.

However the recipe was lost until after he passed away and Mrs Dean found it in a card from Constance whilst sorting through his belongings in 2012.

She referred to the brand as Colonial Spice Gin and then began experimenting with it, making her own variants for friends and family.

However Mrs Dean has already found success selling at festivals and supplying it to four different restaurants prompting her to launch her fully-fledged business this year.

She added: "I am concerned that those who have objected have the mistaken impression that I am going to be operating some sort of off-licence type of set up and/or that there might be consumption of alcohol in or around my house.

"Nothing could be further from the truth and this is most definitely not the case."

The council permitted her licence application.