KEY POINTS:
Queenstown bar owner Al Spary is to take his fight against restrictions on 24-hour drinking to the High Court.
Judge William Unwin last month ruled that 4am closing would apply to all Queenstown premises from August 4 next year, the date the last 24-hour licence was up for renewal.
The decision backed the policy adopted by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in May, which introduced blanket 4am closing times district-wide in order to clamp down on alcohol-induced crimes.
Mayor Clive Geddes said at the time the town's residents had had a "gut's full" of drunken disorderly patrons causing havoc in the streets.
Mr Spary, whose company runs four Queenstown bars, said yesterday he would be pursuing the matter through the courts.
About 95 per cent of submitters opposed the 4am closing policy during the submissions process, he told the Otago Daily Times.
"... with such a weight of opinion it should be no surprise to anyone that the industry would fight such a decision."
Last month, Mr Geddes urged bar owners to accept the ruling and not proceed with a legal fight, which would be a "disappointing outcome".
- NZPA
