Licence bids withdrawn
A second liquor licence application in Palmerston North has been withdrawn within two weeks in the face of community opposition.
The Liquor Store Ltd has pulled out of plans for a Thirsty Liquor store in the Roslyn shopping centre in Vogel St.
The District Licensing Committee had received 185 objections, and the city council confirmed the applicants will not proceed.
Two weeks ago another operator, Millenium Ltd, withdrew its application for a Bottle-O store at 260 Church St near the Salvation Army shop, faced with 373 objections.
Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere, who lodged objections against both applications, said the Vogel St backdown was “great news for the local community and another win for local democracy”.
“The withdrawal of this application sends a very strong message that our community will not stand aside and let vulnerable members of our community be preyed upon by allowing an additional liquor outlet in the area.” Utikere said it had been a no-brainer for him in his capacity as local MP, and after discussions with members of the community, to stand against the application.
“As the local MP, I will continue to speak up for the community to send a strong message that an additional liquor store in an area of town that would have only caused more harm, is not welcome.”
The withdrawal was also welcomed by community group Roslyn Reach. Chairperson Susan Baty said she was pleased common sense had prevailed.
“I presume they thought, if the community don’t want us, we won’t go there.”
Baty said the group had put in an objection because they did not want alcohol to be even more available in a low decile area with the youngest demographic in the city.
The shopping centre was a place a lot of young people visited, being just around the corner from a school, in the same block as the community library and popular bakeries and a dairy.
Part of the avalanche of objections had been enabled by the national organisation Communities Against Alcohol Harm, which provided an online service to make it easier for people to fill in forms to lodge their objections and their grounds for making them.
Its lead advocate Liz Gordon said she was delighted to hear about the Roslyn application withdrawal. “We are so concerned about the high numbers of liquor stores in the area and the alcohol harm they cause.
“It is great that the people’s voice has stopped these new stores.”
Gordon said the large number of objections to the Church St application before its withdrawal, indicated people thought there were quite enough liquor stores in the city.
The two applications had been for stores in some of the city’s poorest areas, and Gordon said they indicated the need for a change of policy and practice in regard to liquor stores.
“The law says that alcohol harm needs to be minimised, and the challenge is how to do this.”