K Rd groups fight bid for liquor store

Karangahape Rd Business Association precinct manager Barbara Holloway said a new off-licence would mean one in 10 stores on the 1km stretch of road would be liquor outlets. Photo / Richard Robinson

A proposal for a ninth liquor store on Karangahape Rd has stirred up business owners and residents, who say alcohol abuse is rife.

More than 100 people have signed a petition opposing the new store, which plans to sell alcohol at 174 Karangahape Rd, opposite St Kevin's Arcade.

At the heart of the protest is the Karangahape Rd Business Association, which says the emergence of a creative, vibrant community is being stifled by drunken behaviour.

The director of the company applying for an off-licence says he is acting within the law, and that one more bottle shop will not increase drinking-related crime in the area.

In a submission to the Liquor Licensing Authority, the association said Karangahape Rd had a number of factors that encouraged the abuse of alcohol - residential instability, recent immigration, social disorganisation and a rundown, urban location.

Association precinct manager Barbara Holloway said a new off-licence would mean one in 10 stores on the 1km stretch of road would be liquor outlets.

"If we applied that same ratio to the heart of the city it would have 100 to 200 outlets," she said.

Ms Holloway said Karangahape Rd appeared to be in "a state of anarchy" or was like something from the film Blade Runner when she first arrived four years ago, but the association had made gradual progress in making it safer and encouraging creative industries. However, that would be compromised by leniency in granting liquor licences.

She added that the association would ultimately like to see the number of outlets reduced to three.

"Ponsonby and the whole of Herne Bay has three outlets, for kilometres and kilometres of businesses. That is a good healthy indicator for an area of two very long streets."

Emkay Trading Company director Kamlesh Lachhani, who owns liquor stores in Mt Albert and Onehunga, said he wanted to open another in Karangahape Rd because of its nightlife.

"In that block of shops there are no liquor shops - the closest are in Queen St, not K Rd ... I am applying within the law, and there is nothing in the sale of liquor laws that says I can't have one there."

Mr Lachhani said alcohol abuse was the responsibility of the local authorities, and stemmed from the attitude to drinking in New Zealand, not the proliferation of liquor outlets.

Many opponents of his off-licence were bottle-shop owners trying to fend off competition, he said.

Security guard David Korewha - who patrols Karangahape Rd five days a week - said drinking incidents sprang up around every new store in the area. "Drinking, urination, rubbish fighting, begging ... wherever there are seats and a bottle store in K Rd, this happens."

He said St Kevin's Arcade would be targeted as a site to drink, and surrounding retail outlets would suffer.

After a Liquor Licensing Authority hearing on Friday, Judge Bill Unwin said the association had presented a strong case. A decision will be given next month.

The Law Commission is reviewing New Zealand's liquor laws, including the proliferation of outlets and the effect on consumption.