Carousel bar faces licence troubles
A DUNEDIN bar criticised for repeated overcrowding has been caught out again, and now faces the prospect of a possible licence suspension.
Police have applied to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) to suspend the onlicence for the Carousel bar in lower Stuart St.
They are also seeking a suspension of the manager’s certificate held by operator John Devereux.
Both matters would be considered by ARLA at a hearing in the Dunedin District Court on April 15.
Police alcohol harm prevention officer Sergeant
Ian Paulin said the applications related to the venue being found to be overcrowded ‘‘on several occasions’’.
The Otago Daily Times understands one of the breaches came on the night of the Pink concert in Dunedin on September 1 last year.
Mr Devereux would not comment when contacted yesterday.
The applications by police were the latest in a string of headaches for the bar and Mr Devereux.
In 2015, Mr Devereux also faced opposition from police when seeking to renew the venue’s licence, after repeated overcrowding at the venue.
Police questioned the ‘‘suitability’’ of Mr Devereux as operator, following his response to the overcrowding problems and an assault on the premises.
Mr Devereux was eventually granted a reprieve after agreeing to investigate options to increase the bar’s capacity.
But the Dunedin district licensing committee, in its decision at the time, said the breaches were of a magnitude that probably would have put patrons at ‘‘serious risk’’ had there been a need to urgently evacuate the premises.
Police had found the bar’s maximum occupancy at the time, set at 50 people, was exceeded multiple times, including one occasion when it was estimated between 120 and 150 people were inside.
The bar was back in the headlines in September last year, when Mr Devereux first appealed against the imposition of a new oneway door policy, and then withdrew his opposition.
And in November, Dennis Willyams (68) died after falling down the stairs while leaving Carousel between 3am and 4am.
Sgt Paulin yesterday confirmed the latest licence applications did not relate to last November’s death.
Sgt Paulin and ARLA both declined to release reports relating to the upcoming hearing to the yesterday.