Whanganui alcohol policy limits entry to premises with late licences

Whanganui District Council's local alcohol policy will be fully in effect from December 2. Photo / File

Some of Whanganui's licensed premises are about to lose their revolving doors - for one hour before their closing time anyway.

Whanganui District Council's "one-way door" condition and new maximum trading hours for licensed premises, part of the local alcohol policy, will come into force on Monday, December 2.

Other clauses of the policy have been in operation since September but two clauses were delayed for three months so the council could talk to licensees.

The "one-way door" restriction applies only to on-licences that close after midnight and means no-one will be admitted - or readmitted, in the case of patrons who go out of the premises - in the hour before the premises closes. The exception is for anyone who is intoxicated and needs to be somewhere safe.

The policy also sets out maximum trading hours, which will be 8am to 2am the following day for on-licence taverns, bars, pubs and nightclubs; 8am to midnight for clubs and on-licence restaurants; 7am to 10pm for off-licence grocery stores, supermarkets and bottle stores; and 7am to 9.30pm for off-licence hotels, bars, taverns and cellar doors.

"There was a three-month lead-in time to these restrictions to enable the council to clearly communicate the new requirements to licensees and give them time to prepare for the changes," compliance operations manager Warrick Zander said.

"These final restrictions will contribute to a safer Whanganui by reducing alcohol availability and staggering the timing of patrons leaving on-licenced premises."

Police and licensing inspectors will visit premises to check and assist licensees' compliance with the new requirements, Zander said.

The policy, which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm, also includes provisions around the location of licensed premises in relation to sensitive sites, such as schools, and limits the number of off-licences (excluding supermarkets and grocery stores).

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 allows councils to adopt a policy relating to the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol for their district.

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