DCC endorses alcohol policy

THE Dunedin City Council is pressing ahead with a watereddown local alcohol policy, but says it will still benefit the community.

Councillors at yesterday’s full council meeting voted to endorse the provisional policy, which would now be submitted to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (Arla) for approval.

The move came two years after an earlier draft local alcohol policy (Lap) was appealed by a group including supermarket chains and liquor stores.

Arla eventually upheld four elements of the appeal, including finding a proposal to reduce offlicence hours from 7am11pm to 9am9pm was ‘‘unreasonable’’ because it lacked sufficient evidence to show the alcoholrelated harm that would be avoided.

The council had responded last year by suggesting a twoyear trial of reduced hours for offlicences, of 7am10pm, followed by a twoyear trial of 7am9pm.

However, councillors yesterday voted to strike out the idea of a trial, and instead include offlicence hours of 7am10pm, just one hour less than the 11pm closing time now permitted.

They also agreed to abandon a moratorium on new offlicences, together with a requirement for them to have alcohol management plans and certification by the DCC, which Arla deemed were ‘‘out of scope’’ with legislation.

However, other changes not successfully appealed would still be included, including a 3am closing time for pubs and other onlicences and a 2.30am oneway door policy.

Council community services general manager Simon Pickford told yesterday’s meeting the revised policy would still provide ‘‘very, very useful tools’’ for the city’s district licensing committee.

Councillors also signed off on new rubbish fines yesterday, meaning culprits caught littering — or illegally dumping rubbish — could be issued with infringement notices of between $100 and $400.

The council had not yet decided how the new approach would be policed.