The council's existing alcohol policy was signed off in 2019. Photo / 123rf
Whanganui District Council’s new local alcohol policy is close to crossing the line.
However, councillors are divided on some issues - including whether there should be a policy at all.
The draft policy, presented at a strategy and policy committee meeting this month, included a one-way door restriction of midnight, instead of the current time of 1am.
The one-way policy means patrons cannot be admitted or readmitted to a premises once the restriction begins.
A report from council strategy and policy manager David Gurney said one Whanganui bar had a midnight one-way door restriction put in place from January.
“Since then, alcohol-related harm incidents between 12am and 3am in the alcohol ban area seem to have fallen below the three-year average,” it said.
“However, numbers are too low, and the time period too short, to be conclusive.”
At the committee meeting, councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay moved that the restriction remain at 1am.
“I want to ensure that we can continue providing a hospitality scene, later at night, that makes Whanganui a vibrant place to live in for people who want to enjoy that sort of experience,” he said.
Chandulal-Mackay said there was nothing to stop Whanganui’s District Licensing Committee (DLC) from putting a midnight door restriction in place, but leaving it at 1am allowed more flexibility.
The DLC must have regard for the council’s alcohol policy, but is not required to follow it.
Councillor Charlotte Melser said there had been a massive downturn in the hospitality sector in 2025.
Whanganui ran “the risk of being a sleepy little provincial town” that could not attract events, and businesses needed to have the opportunity to build vibrancy and to be able to survive through this winter and beyond, she said.
Councillor Glenda Brown said she thought vibrancy and patronage would remain the same if the restriction came in at midnight.
“It would be different if we were bringing the closing hour back, but we’re not,” she said.
Committee chair Kate Joblin said the DLC could do what it liked.
“But, I’m going to come down on the side of trying to put in place a set of rules that will prevent harm in our community.
“You young ones, who want to party on at 12am and 1am, you do the work, you do the mahi to get that vibrancy and create a space that can be safe.”
Chandulal-Mackay said vibrancy was not about the consumption of alcohol or intoxication.
“It’s about giving people the opportunity to have a night out, having a bit of a dance and socialising with their friends, and putting their hard-earned discretionary income into those businesses.”
His motion was lost 6-5, with Melser and councillors Jenny Duncan, Rob Vinsen and Michael Law in favour.
Mayor Andrew Tripe and councillors Joblin, Brown, Peter Oskam, Ross Fallen and Philippa Baker-Hogan were against.
A proposed alcohol risk matrix, which assigned an alcohol licence applicant a score based on factors such as deprivation, clustering and proximity to sensitive sites, will no longer be part of the policy.
The idea was met with concern by a range of experts, with DLC chairman Stuart Hylton labelling it “non-nuanced“.
Other changes to the plan include stopping off-licence sales after 9pm on any day, and having a bottle store cap of 10pm.
“For the purposes of this policy, a bottle store is a standalone retail outlet that holds an off-licence, with its primary business being the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises,” Gurney’s report said.
“Bottle stores offer a broad range of alcohol products, including but not limited to beer, cider, ready-to-drink beverages and spirits.
“This is distinct from boutique breweries, distilleries or wineries, which are primarily production-focused, selling only their own products as part of a broader hospitality experience.”
The current policy, signed off in 2019, has a 10pm sales limit for supermarkets, grocery stores and bottle stores, and 9.30pm limit for hotels, bars, taverns and wineries.
The committee voted by 8-2 to adopt the new policy, with Law and Vinsen voting against. Baker-Hogan was absent, having left the meeting.
Law said he had no way of knowing how the cap of 10pm was chosen, and there was no data in Gurney’s report for reference, with Vinsen calling for local alcohol policies to be scrapped altogether.
The policy will be presented at a full council meeting on August 12.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.