Local Alcohol Policies (LAP) allow communities to have a say about some aspects of the sale of alcohol in their area - like the number, location and hours of licenced premises such as cafes and restaurants, bottle stores and supermarkets.

First steps

In late 2022 we started doing some ground work to understand whether or not our existing LAP is meeting the needs of our community. 

In Sept/Oct we ran a survey on this topic. It was open for anyone to give feedback on, but we also approached people we thought may have an interest in this where and when alcohol can be sold - such as previous submitters, businesses with alcohol licenses, schools, health providers etc). You can view the results of that survey in our Research Report

The following people/agencies also met with Councillors to share their thoughts and areas of concern:

• Te Whatu Ora Waikato (Health NZ) presented their report on alcohol related health information
• The New Zealand Police
• Council's Alcohol Licensing and Monitoring staff

What was proposed

From this feedback we heard that the majority of people who choose to drink do so responsibly, but there is still harm from alcohol happening in our community, and alcohol can have serious impacts on people’s health and wellbeing. 

We believe the existing LAP strikes a balance between preventing alcohol-related harm and providing a reasonable and fair alcohol licensing environment for our district and overall, is working well. So we are proposing to largely stick with the existing policy, with some small changes based on the research and feedback. Key changes being proposed include:

• Adding a location clause for on-licences to make it clear that Council’s preference is for on-licences to be restricted to ‘Business Zones’ in the District. The current LAP has no policy in this area, meaning there is no guidance for the District Licensing Committee (DLC) when making decisions about where on-licences (such as bars, restaurants, cafes and pubs) can be located;
• Encouraging the DLC to consider applying a one-way door restriction to on-licences. A one-way door restriction prevents people entering the premises from a certain time, and can help minimise disorder and crime resulting from large numbers of people on the streets.
• Changing the maximum trading hours for off-licences. These are currently set to 7am-9pm. We're proposing to increase this to 7am to 11pm for supermarkets and grocery stores, allowing them to increase their opening hours if they wish to, and still provide customers the convenience of being able to purchase alcohol. We're also proposing to reduce the hours for all other off-licenses to 9am-9pm based on feedback from Te Whatu Ora and the NZ Police around reducing harm. 
• Updating the distance that off-licences can be located within proximity of a sensitive site (such as schools, parks and reserves, places of worship, marae and playgrounds) from 50 metres to 100 metres to help protect vulnerable people in our community. This will exclude supermarkets and grocery stores.

What you told us

Thank you to all those who took the time to make a submission.

Overall we received 45 submissions - you can view these here. From these submissions, the following themes were identified:

• Some submitters raised concerns that any new location provisions would affect their existing business/venue.
• A large number of submitters commented on the proposed change to the maximum trading hours for off-licences. 21 submitters made specific comments regarding the proposed provision to update the maximum trading hours for off-licences. Many submitters determined that hours for off-licences should be consistently applied across all off-licences. Council received some submissions requesting consistent application across all off-licences.
• Some submitters did agree that on-licences should be restricted to the Business Zones however there should be the ability for on-licences to be located outside of this - noting several examples of businesses that are well run and ‘destination’ venues that provide economic benefits for the district and entertainment options.

Hearing 

A hearing was held on 3 May 2023 where submitters could choose to present their submission to Council in person. Five people chose to speak on the draft LAP. Following this, Council asked staff for further information to assist in their deliberations, and deliberations and decision-making was held at a Council meeting on 24 May 2023.

Council Decision

Council resolved at the Council meeting on 24 May 2023 to continue to have a LAP and to adopt a provisional LAP. Council decided to continue with the LAP as consulted on with the following proposed change regarding the maximum trading hours for off-licences taking into account the submissions received:

Anyone who submitted on the draft LAP has the right to appeal the provisional LAP. Following the appeal process, Council will finalise the LAP.

Provisional Local Alcohol Policy (PLAP) Document 

Final Local Alcohol Policy 2023

• Research Report on alcohol in Matamata-Piako
• Issues and Options Report
• Current Local Alcohol Policy
• Alcohol Licensing information