Whanganui's off-licence liquor limit to be tested

A new application will test Whanganui's off-licence limit. Photo / 123RF

Whanganui District Council has received a new application for an off-licence in Whanganui despite the district having hit its cap under its new Local Alcohol Policy.

In September last year the Whanganui District Council was able to sign off the policy after it was appealed by liquor outlets, which cost the council $25,000 in legal fees.

The policy limits the number of off-licence liquor outlets in the district to 14 - excluding supermarkets and grocery stores.

The Black Bull Victoria Ave licence renewal this year made it the 14th off-licence in the district before the fresh application from an off-licence outlet that is being processed, Whanganui Chief Licensing Inspector Warrick Zander said.

The applicant has been made aware of the restriction.

Police, the Ministry of Health and the Chief Alcohol Licensing Inspector all oppose the application. Reports on it are expected to be forwarded to the Whanganui District Licensing Committee within a week.

It will have to be heard by the committee - despite the council cap.

The Local Alcohol Policy says the committee must "have regard to it", but does not say it must be bound by it, Zander said.

It would be remiss of the committee to decline the application because of the cap, District Licensing Commissioner Stuart Hylton said. The committee would be "well within its powers" to approve it - but its decision could also be appealed.

The committee that makes those decisions has dwindled to just four people and the commissioner. They are Nicki Higgie, Philippa Baker-Hogan, Rob Moore and Hamish McDouall.

Meanwhile, Whanganui is looking for people who can make objective decisions about the way alcohol is sold in the district.

When a hearing is held Hylton needs two committee members to sit with him. Sometimes it is hard to get them.

"We don't have many hearings but sometimes we struggle to find the necessary two. The District Licensing Committee is running pretty close to the wind," he said.

The council can appoint as many as eight committee members. They cannot be council staff or involved in the industry. They must be people of integrity, with knowledge of alcohol licensing and analytical skills.

"Our role is to hear all the parties and to consider all the information that's put before us. We can't consider anything that isn't put before us.

"Our individual ideas and preferences are cast aside and we are supposedly objective, and we should be consensual as well," Hylton said.

Committee members are paid an hourly rate for the time they work. Hearings are only held if an application to sell alcohol is opposed, and there are usually only four to six a year.

Any decision by the committee can be appealed, first to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority and then to the High Court.

There are about 150 applications to sell alcohol a year, at places like sports clubs, taverns, restaurants and supermarkets. Many need regular renewal.

Those "stock-standard" applications are dealt with by Hylton alone, "on the papers".

He is Whanganui's first commissioner, appointed in 2014.

The 14 off-licences already operating in the district are the Whanganui East and Castlecliff clubs, Windermere Gardens, Roots Brewing Co, Liquorland, four Big Barrel outlets and five Black Bull outlets.