Denying entry may kill bars: Owner

FEARS FOR CUSTOM: Phil Sentch believes the new one-way door policy to be introduced in April could result in bars losing customers and having to close down. PHOTO/ MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Some Whangarei bars could be forced to shut down when a one-way door policy comes into effect, a Northland hospitality leader says.

However, the Whangarei District Council thinks the policy will have the opposite effect.

The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) ruled in December for a requirement of a one-way door system between 1am and 3am for bars in the Whangarei CBD, with council staff sitting down this week to discuss how to implement the policy.

The change - expected to come in on April 4 - will prevent people entering CBD bars after 1am, something Hospitality New Zealand Northland representative Phil Sentch believes will cripple the industry and could result in some bars closing for good.

"If [people] are forced to stay in one bar, does that mean the other bar completely loses out on business? We don't mind them wandering between bars. But this will possibly mean we will see bars close down - a lot of bars make their money at that time of night," Mr Sentch said.

Rynoz owner Mr Sentch and the owners of McMorrissey's on Vine St, Bacios on Bank St, and Head Office on Water St have been challenging the council over the policy in front of the authority since 2010.

Mr Sentch believes not only will it result in fewer punters, but increased costs due to bars having to hire extra security to deal with people turned away.

"I think the biggest issues are going to come at the bar door. I guess it's taken away people's freedom of choice at the end of the day," he said.

"It's a tough time and we spend a lot of money to keep these places going. We are a tourism town here, and if there's no hospitality, there's no tourism."

But Whangarei District Council group manager for district living Paul Dell believed it would have the opposite effect.

"We hope to see people coming into town earlier than they currently do, and hopefully we'll see a reduction in 'front-loading' (drinking beforehand) or 'side-locking' (drinking from vehicles parked in the CBD).

"My view is that there is an opportunity for businesses to improve their overall operation," Mr Dell said.

Council staff were liaising with hospitality industry representatives and taxi companies, as well as putting together a communications strategy to alert punters to the change.

The council, Northland police and the Northland District Health Board supported the policy, which would be re-evaluated after 15 months.

Whangarei was the first provincial town to adopt such a policy and was leading the way nationally, Mr Dell said.