A local alcohol policy sets out the policies that will guide the decisions of the District Licensing Committee when it issues alcohol licences. Our policy is still provisional. In other words, it is not yet in effect.
We made the provisional local alcohol policy on 28 April 2021, following public consultation on our draft policy. The policy was notified on Thursday 27 May 2021.
Keep reading to find out about our provisional local alcohol policy and the appeals process.
What is in the provisional local alcohol policy?
The provisional policy includes maximum trading hours for different types of licensed premises.
| On-licences |
Earliest opening hour |
Latest closing hour |
| Hotels, taverns, and class 1 restaurants (with a bar area operated as a tavern) |
8am |
2am the following day |
|
Function centres
|
8am |
1am the following day |
| All other on-licensed premises (including class 2 and 3 restaurants and cafes, cinemas and theatres) |
8am |
12 midnight |
| Off-licences |
Earliest opening hour |
Latest closing hour |
| All off-licences (eg, bottle stores, supermarkets and grocery stores) |
7am |
9pm |
| Club licences |
Earliest opening hour |
Latest closing hour |
|
All club licensed premises (eg, RSAs, sports clubs)
|
8am |
12 midnight |
The provisional policy doesn’t include restrictions on location (other than complying with the District Plan), one-way door restrictions, or discretionary conditions.
The appeals process
The Council placed a public notice in the Manawatū Standard and Guardian newspapers on Thursday 27 May 2021 notifying the appeals process. Anyone who wanted to appeal the provisional policy had 30 days from the date of that public notice to lodge their Notice of Appeal with the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA).
The only ground on which an element of the provisional policy can be appealed against is that it is unreasonable in light of the object of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. The object of the Act is safe and responsible sale, supply, and consumption of alcohol and the minimisation of harm caused by its excessive or inappropriate use.
We have been notified that four appeals were made. The process for hearing and settling those appeals is determined by ARLA, including the timeframe.
We’re still waiting to hear from ARLA when appeals on our provisional policy will be heard. We’ll update this page once we have more information.
Until ARLA has heard and decided on the appeals against our provisional policy, our policy is not in effect.
We've prepared a document with more information about the appeals process. You can download it below. This information is taken from the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Regulations, and the Ministry of Justice website.