Northland supermarkets sell wine and beer from 7am-10pm. The Sale and Supply of Liquor Act allows maximum off-licence trading hours of 7am-11pm. Spokesmen for Foodstuffs (which owns the Pak'n Save and New World chains) and Progressive Enterprises (Countdown) would not comment on the Whangarei proposals until council released its revised LAP prior to adoption.
WDC received more than 250 written submissions on its draft LAP and sat through three days of hearings in July and August. Several changes look set to be made to the draft.
Councillors justified restricting off-licence hours by arguing that people who struggled with alcohol abuse should have a chance to buy groceries when supermarkets did not sell alcohol.
Not all councillors were happy, however.
Cr Stuart Bell said a community survey showed residents preferred an average opening time of 10.45am.
"If we can't get to at least 10am then we're not listening to what our community wants," he said.
Cr Tricia Cutforth wanted "hours at both ends to be contained" further.
Whangarei councillors had previously toyed with the idea of placing a moratorium on new bottle stores for up to six years, though the most recent consensus was to reduce it to three years.
Bars and clubs outside the CBD could trade from 8am-1am though CBD venues could remain open until 3am if operating a one-way door system after 1am. In the Far North, the limit will be 1am, though special licences may allow longer hours for certain events.
Whangarei councillors sought to slightly relax the one-way door system with the possibility of allowing a "pass out" option, "to allow women to be escorted to a vehicle", the deliberation report read. That would be considered an operational matter for licensees.
Ideas around a restriction on serving shots after midnight, additional security staff and more CCTV as conditions of renewing licences, were scrapped from the plan following pleas from publicans. Bars could still be required to restrict the use of outdoor areas after certain times and keep a violence register on a case-by-case basis.
Meanwhile, Cr Ann Court said the Far North LAP aimed to strike a balance between public concerns about alcohol harm and availability, and worries that excessive restrictions could damage the district's tourism and hospitality sectors. One of the new Far North rules is a requirement that any new liquor outlets planning to open within 100m of schools, parks or homes has to go through a public notification process first.
The Far North LAP has been adopted already but is open to appeals until October 9. If no appeals are lodged it will become operative in November.
