Residents against liquor application

A Christchurch resident has questioned how harm caused by alcohol can be minimised if liquor outlets continue to be sprinkled around the city ‘‘like confetti’’.

Objectors to a liquor licence application by Samarth Rajeshkumar Limbachiya spoke out against his bottle store bid at day two of a hearing before the District Licensing Committee yesterday.

Limbachiya wants to sell alcohol from a shopping centre at the corner of Trafford St and Harewood Rd.

A petition by nearby residents Colin Fussell and Bruce Tulloch contains the signatures of 1100 people opposed to the controversial application, which attracted more than 80 submissions.

Yesterday, Fussell questioned whether one of the objectives of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, to minimise the harm of excessive consumption, was being met.

‘‘How the hell are you going to minimise if you start sprinkling liquor outlets around like confetti?’’ he asked.

The fact so many residents showed up to the first day of the hearing on Thursday, despite the foul weather, showed the community’s ‘‘disquiet’’.

Fussell, who said he had responded to several break-ins at the shopping centre, said he was not ‘‘against alcohol’’; the long-time Harewood resident had brewed the ‘‘odd drop’’ himself.

‘‘It’s not the major problem, it’s what it attracts,’’ he said.

Tulloch believed having a bottle store on the corner would make access to alcohol easier.

‘‘I think it’s human nature that people are going to take advantage of that,’’ he said.

Residents were concerned littering would increase if the bottle store was given the green light, despite a city council inspector’s failure to find evidence of littering in nearby parks, Tulloch said.

There were already three offlicence stores located in the Bishopdale Mall area, which is within walking distance of Trafford St.

‘‘Adding small liquor stores where people can go on foot is not reducing harm in my mind,’’ Tulloch said.

‘‘If the community is not listened to we’ll get a breakdown of civility, a breakdown of respect for the council and, God help us, we’ll end up with a situation like Trump or Brexit.’’

Another Trafford St resident, Aaron Bree, who has two children and another on the way, said he was ‘‘strongly opposed’’ to Limbachiya’s off licence application.

‘‘I don’t have an issue with bottle stores in general, however I do have an issue with bottle stores in residential areas,’’ he said.

Bree said he had grown up in an environment where ‘‘I got to a certain age and where if you didn’t drink yourself stupid you’re basically not cool’’.

Limbachiya’s lawyer, Andrew Riches, previously said the placement of the store would not increase the use of alcohol in the area overall.

Limbachiya was not proposing to create an ‘‘eyesore’’ with signs advertising discounted liquor.

The public health officer, police and council’s inspector had not raised objections to the application.

A decision on the application was reserved.