Napier and Hastings bars will remain open until 3am but bottle stores and supermarkets will stop selling alcohol at 9pm under proposed changes to liquor policies in the two cities.
A joint committee of Napier City and Hastings District councillors has been considering submissions on an alcohol policy that would apply across the two local authorities' boundaries.
It is recommending bars in the two cities be allowed to trade between 8am and 3am, with a "one-way door" policy in place from 2am, meaning venues would not be able to admit new customers after that time. The committee is recommending supermarkets sell alcohol between 7am and 9pm, while bottle stores can open from 9am to 9pm.
The decision to allow bars and pubs to stay open until 3am was made despite a call from police and health authorities for a 2am closing time. Supermarkets told the committee they wanted to sell alcohol until 11pm and bottle stores asked to remain open until 10pm.
But the committee decided stopping off-license sales of alcohol at 9pm would reduce "pre-loading" - where drinkers fill up on cheaper store-bought booze before heading out. Alcohol Action Hawke's Bay spokesperson Fran Lowe said she was "dismayed" the committee had ignored the views of police, the District Health Board and a market research poll of the public in backing 3am pub closures.