Bars snub council’s smokefree perk

Attempts to entice Wellington cafe owners to ban outdoor smoking by cutting their licence fees appear to have gone up in smoke.

Wellington City Council has offered to waive its annual outdoor dining licence fees for any cafes, bars or restaurants prepared to go smokefree.

The incentive came into effect on July 1 but there have been no takers yet, with bar owners fearing it could alienate customers.

Matt McLaughlin, who owns Dirty Little Secret, Jack Hackett’s, Four Kings and Danger Danger, is a non-smoker who supports the initiative – but he has not taken up the offer of a free licence.

He ‘‘applauded’’ mayor Justin Lester for doing something ‘‘out of the box’’, and said it had been a tough decision to make.

‘‘I’ve got a business to run. A beer and a smoke go hand-in-hand, and I think it will take one person to do it before anyone else gets on board.’’

All hospitality venues using public spaces for outdoor dining must pay $95 a year to renew their pavement leases. They are then charged lease fees based on the size of the area. In the central city, the fee is $45 a square metre, down from $90 previously. This fee will be waived completely for bars that go smokefree.

Hospitality New Zealand’s regional manager for greater Wellington, Raewyn Tan, said there was a feeling of reluctance among cafe and bar owners, who believed a place to smoke was part of offering hospitality.

Businesses recouped the costs for outdoor dining from smokers, but that was not a consideration, she said. ‘‘The general consensus around the city was ‘we want to be inclusive’.’’

Nick Mills, whose family owns several bars including Siglo, Public and Spruce Goose, said he felt ‘‘ripped off’’ by Lester, who had promised to scrap outdoor dining fees in his election campaign.

This year, Lester announced outdoor dining fees for all businesses would be halved in the city’s Annual Plan, adopted in June, and said the smokefree waiver was an extra incentive.

Wellington Hospitality Group chief executive Jamie Williams, who runs Bethel Woods, Coene’s, Borough, Brew’d bars and Mac’s, said the council initiative was ‘‘nanny-state mentality’’.

‘‘I have no intention of telling my customers what to do, and a fee incentive does not change my opinion. It’s not worth alienating customers to save $500 or $1000 a year.’’

Acting mayor Paul Eagle said the initiative was not meant to be an impediment to bar and cafe owners, and he urged them to ‘‘give it a go’’.

If businesses wanted to use public space, ‘‘there has to be some give and take, and a benefit for ratepayers’’.

The city’s bars got an economic benefit, while the public would reap social benefits, he added.

The council’s feedback from Wellingtonians was that they would support giving up public space for smokefree areas.

‘‘A lot of owners are reluctant to take that risk, because it could scare a lot of customers away.’’ Wellington bar owner Matt McLaughlin