Wellington bar owner fighting for liquor licence on Courtenay Place

Authorities are opposing a number of liquor licences for new venues on Courtenay Place. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A Wellington bar owner says a group of agencies are “ganging up” to stop new bars opening along the city’s party strip, and that their actions will “kill Courtenay Place”.

But the medical officer of health said residents of the central city experienced “extraordinary high levels of alcohol-related harm”, and adding a new liquor licence to the area would contribute to that.

El Barrio and Vinyl owner Greig Wilson said he has been fighting for weeks to open his new cocktail bar, Saint Diablo, on Courtenay Place, but now faces months of delays thanks to opposition from police, Te Whatu Ora and Wellington City Council.

“The reality is there’s three agencies ... that don’t want any more bars on Courtenay Place,” Wilson told NZME.

He said the agencies opposed the granting of his liquor licence on the basis there have been social issues increasing in that area, but Wilson said new bars were not the problem.

“Everyone knows it, it’s social housing in central Wellington that has caused these social issues.”

Wilson said there were homeless people on the streets who started drinking early in the day.

Messing with the balance of Courtenay Place could have consequences for nightlife, Jeremy Smith said. File photo / Nick James

“They’re not coming into Vinyl bar for a $14 glass of pinot gris, I tell you that.”

With police, the medical officer of health and the council’s licensing inspector opposing his liquor licence, Wilson had to have a hearing with the District Licensing Committee to argue his case.

“It’s a huge toll,” he said.

“We worked on that case day and night for about six weeks.”

He said the agencies brought “nonsense” claims against him, including that he would not be able to produce food from his bar’s kitchen, but the committee disregarded those claims and granted him a licence.

Wilson’s celebrations were short-lived, however, with the agencies joining together to file an appeal against the decision, meaning it will be months more before Wilson can begin operating, if he wins the appeal.

“Now we’re in the situation where we’ll finish building the premise ... and now we’re going to start paying rent pretty soon.

“These agencies have no regard whatsoever for the commercial realities of business.”

Wilson said they would continue to fight for a licence.

Data shows the number of recorded 'Acts intended to cause injury' between July 2019 - June 2023, within Wellington city.

“We back our record and we’re committed to this site and we will open this site, it’s just a matter of when ... We’ll fight the game and we’ll come back and we’ll win.”

He said the agencies were “ganging up” against some of the most experienced operators on Courtenay Place, and that they would “kill Courtenay Place” if they continued opposing licences.

Police said in a statement they were not able to “go into the specifics of this appeal”, which had been jointly lodged by police, the medical officer of health and the licensing inspector.

“The appeal process now needs to run its course,” they said.

“In general, police assess alcohol licensing applications with careful consideration of the potential for alcohol-related harm, and with the aim of reducing alcohol-related harm. We refer to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 when we oppose an application.”

Police data shows the number of recorded “acts intended to cause injury” between July 2019-June 2023, within Wellington city.

The Courtenay Place area has the highest number of recorded incidents, with the period between 11pm Saturday to 4am Sunday having the most incidents.

The National Public Health Service’s medical officer of health, Dr Stephen Palmer, said the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 introduced a framework intended to restrict rather than relax drinking laws.

“Looking then specifically at this licence, our main concern for liquor licences in the entertainment centre of the central city is the persistent high levels of alcohol-related harm experienced by residents of central Wellington. Compared to other cities in New Zealand this high level of harm is only eclipsed by Auckland, however, that city has a much larger population base,” he said.

“While we look at alcohol-related attendances to emergency departments (ED) and alcohol-related admissions to hospitals, we are also conscious that there are other harms caused and ED statistics represent just the tip of the iceberg, below which there will be much higher levels of less serious harm.”

Palmer said there was no realistic doubt a new licence in the entertainment precinct would contribute to some alcohol-related harm.

“Once a new licence is approved, it is our experience that it is almost impossible to take the licence away. It is better to make the right decision at the beginning, rather than committing years of effort to take the licence away once issued.

“Given that residents of the central city experience extraordinary high levels of alcohol-related harm, from a public health perspective, additional licences are not in sync with the object or purpose of the Act.”

Jeremy Smith, the managing director of Wellington-based hospitality group the Trinity Group, said if the agencies continued to push for changes then Courtenay Place was at risk of losing its “vibrancy”.

Messing with the elements that made Courtenay Place what it was would lead to an “imbalance”, he said.

Covid had shown that forcing people to stay home to socialise led to more drinking and recreational drug use, he said.

“We can’t understand why health in particular and the council seem to be hellbent on trying to close venues earlier.

“They seem to be targeting operators who are good operators, there’s no logic for it... "

Such action from these agencies would impact the balance in Courtenay Place.

“If their scheme is to try to close Courtenay Place down earlier, absolutely we are going to lose the vibrancy.”

A council spokesman said they could not comment on the case due to the appeal.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said having a thriving hospitality sector was a “key priority” for her.

“Whilst it is not my role to get involved in individual license applications, I do understand the concerns raised by our hospitality sector about the timeliness and process of decision-making.

“I have asked council staff to work with the sector on how we can ensure a clear, consistent and efficient approach to liquor licencing that delivers on our commitment of a vibrant and safe central city.”

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.