18 November 2014

Last chance to have your say

People have until this Friday, 21 November to have their say on Waikato District Council’s proposed Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) and proposed Gambling Venues Policy.

The policies contain proposals designed to address issues identified in the district. Mayor Allan Sanson says, “the proposed policies are a great start but now we need your help to ensure we’ve got the balance right.”

The proposed LAP includes various tools to help manage the number and location of new licensed premises, such as:

• no new standalone bottle stores in Ngaruawahia, Huntly and Raglan

• maximum trading hours for bars and taverns of 9am to 1am the following day and 9am to 2am the following day on Fridayand Saturday for bars and taverns in towns only

• maximum trading hours for cafes, restaurants and function centres of 7am-1am the following day

• maximum trading hours of 9am to 10pm for off-licences

• maximum trading hours of 9am to 1am the following day for club licences

• various discretionary conditions.

The proposed Gambling Venue Policy restricts how many gambling venues and pokie machines are allowed and where they can be located, it includes:

• one set of rules for the Waikato district

• no new pokie venues or TAB Board venues may be established in the district

• a maximum of nine gaming machines can be located at a class 4 venue (such as pubs or clubs).

With only four days of consultation remaining, Mayor Allan Sanson urges residents to have their say. "The draft LAP will introduce some significant changes to when and where people can buy and consume alcohol and we need to know what the community thinks of those changes," he said.

Submissions on the proposed policies will be accepted until 5pm on Friday 21 November. You can provide feedback online atwww.waikatodistrict.govt.nz, click ‘submit online’ and follow the prompts to register.

Mayor Allan Sanson encourages residents to submit online through the Council website. "It’s quick and easy and is guaranteed to get to us by the close of consultation on Friday."

Council will hear and deliberate on submissions in February next year. The LAP will be open to appeals at that time, but only people who submitted through the consultation process running now will be able to make an appeal.

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