Police have been accused of “nannyism” over conditions it has sought for a niche 50-person bar that will only sell relatively expensive natural wine.

Perth doctor Sam Winfield, 29, lodged a liquor licence application in June for a William Street property where he hoped to create Perth’s first natural wine store and bar.

While the application has not yet been determined, WA Police has recommended that it only be approved with more than a dozen conditions.

These include the requirement for two security guards at the entrance on Friday and Saturday nights, no takeaway liquor to be sold and for staff to carry click counter devices to count patrons.

“This is absolute nonsense,” Perth MP John Carey said.

“We are talking about an intimate neighbourhood establishment selling high-end wine to no more than 50 people. It’s not some big boozy tavern.

“This is the sort of place we want in the city, creating vibrancy and re-using an historic building.

“Our police should be concentrating on community safety and crime — and not on being the nanny police for our State.”

Dr Winfield, who works as an assistant surgeon in several private hospitals, had become a fan of natural wines — wines made with minimal chemical and technological intervention — but had struggled to find them available in Perth.

He said they were increasingly popular in the Eastern States and several winemakers in Margaret River and the Swan Valley were producing natural wines.

So Dr Winfield — who last week won the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s Laithwaite’s Prize in London for his essay on natural wines — decided to open his own bar that would serve natural wines with lunches and dinners, but also provide takeaway sales.

After a long search, he leased 458 William Street, near the corner with Brisbane Street.

“It would be like nothing we have in Perth; small and sophisticated,” he said. “This will not be a big liquor barn. No wine will sell for under $20 a bottle and I have agreed not to sell takeaway beer.

“I had to apply for a tavern licence because it was the only category that allowed for the sale of takeaway and dine-in wine.

“But as an intimate boutique wine store and bar, it will not resemble a tavern in any way.

“Most people have been very positive about the plan.

“The change-of-use development application for the building has been approved by the City of Vincent. I have the support of Tourism WA and the local wine producers. And there have been no objections to my application from the local community.

“The only concerns have come from the police. And I don’t think most of their arguments stack up.”

As a result of the police concerns, Dr Winfield has had to engage a lawyer which has already cost him $12,000 in responding to the police arguments.

A police spokeswoman would not confirm the specifics of the police response to the licence application.

“The Director of Liquor Licensing will, as always, take into consideration our submissions prior to making a determination on the licence,” she said.

Mr Carey said the police response was an embarrassment that could ultimately kill a unique business venture.

He said Dr Winfield’s fight emphasised the need for liquor licensing reform that gave tourism a voice in licence applications.