Restrictions on the number of bottle stores allowed to be established in the Western Bay looks set to be removed today.
The proposal to cap the off-licences to the current 74 outlets in Tauranga and 35 in the rest of the Bay of Plenty was one of the big changes to come out of the joint councils' Local Alcohol Policy.
But legal challenges from New Zealand's two big supermarket operators and two major bottle store chains led to negotiations that culminated in the Western Bay District and Tauranga City councils agreeing to lift the cap and go back to the status quo.
The mutually agreed consent order to lift the cap was due to be signed off by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority today.
It means that future applications for new bottle stores can be decided without another existing outlet closing. Supermarkets feared that a cap on off-licences would result in people having to pay huge amounts of money to get a new licence.