Brew Bar's Calypso Childs. Photo / Ben Fraser
Controlled opening hours, a one-way door policy for pubs and bars and a ban on single-serve sales of RTDs are among the tough new alcohol measures proposed for Rotorua.
Rotorua Lakes Council is close to approving its Provisional Local Alcohol Policy, which aims to address the harmful effects of drinking.
The policy also includes stricter rules around the granting of new off-license applications.
Applications will not be granted for premises within 1km of an existing off-license or within 500m of an educational facility or marae. Currently applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
A councillor present at this week's Strategy, Policy, and Finance committee meeting said it took "five minutes" to sign off on the policy, which now looks almost certain to be approved at a full council meeting on July 16.
Under the new regulations, inner city bars would not be allowed to accept new customers from an hour before closing time.
The one-way door policy is designed to tackle problems related to heavy drinking by customers "bar hopping", and is already enforced by some premises in town.
Brew Bar manager Mel Rolfe said a one-way door policy would benefit many bars in the city - although perhaps not her own.
"I would support it, but not in a premises that I manage," she said. "But maybe in busier places where the younger people are drinking."
Ms Rolfe said Brew Bar was licensed until 3am, but frequently shut well before that time, depending on business.
Neven Hill, Compliance Solutions Manager for the council, said businesses were required to advertise their opening hours, and the new policy would be based on this.
Opening hours of both licensed and off-license premises would also be controlled, with different rules applying to inner city businesses to those out of town. Opening hours for licensed and off-license premises are regulated on a case-by-case basis.
Liquor stores allowed to operate until 1am will be forced to close at 10pm under the new policy, while last call at late-night bars - 3am - remains unchanged.
A submission made on behalf of Super Liquor to council last year claimed the policy was "an all-out assault on liquor stores" which created "an uneven playing field" with its competitors.
Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said the policy was geared towards addressing the potentially harmful effects of alcohol.
"Some people get tanked up and that sometimes spills over into some quite anti-social behaviour," she said.
But she was keen to make clear the new policy was not meant as a killjoy.
"We certainly don't want to see people not enjoying themselves."
The new policy would also restrict liquor stores and supermarkets within city limits from selling single-serve RTD (ready to drink) products - although wines and "speciality beers" would be excepted.
Councillor Mike McVicker said prohibiting the sale of RTDs was primarily focused on curbing underage drinking.
"There were too many occasions in the past where drinks were going into the wrong hands," he said.
-See tomorrow's Rotorua Daily Post for more on the potential implications of the council's Provisional Local Alcohol Policy.