Shorter Opening Hours Proposed For Marlborough Bars

Sunday, 16 March 2025, 9:23 pm
Article: Maia Hart - Local Democracy Reporter

March 14, 2025

A draft local alcohol policy shows the council is proposing to stop any new bottle stores opening in the region and cutting back the time bars can open to by an hour.

The Marlborough District Council last year agreed to draft the policy following changes to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act which made it harder for the document to be appealed.

The council first began drafting a local alcohol policy in 2014, but did not go through with it because other policies around the country were being appealed by “large players”.

So it had taken a long time to get here, environmental health officer Karen Winter said, presenting the policy at an environment and planning committee meeting on Thursday.

A local alcohol policy applied to on-licence premises, where alcohol was consumed on-site, as well as off licences, such as liquor stores, where alcohol was sold for consumption elsewhere.

The draft policy proposed to cap off-licence bottle stores in the region. No new licences would be issued from the date the policy was adopted.

This would not apply to the likes of cellar doors, hotels or supermarkets.

Winter told the committee they had decided to include this in the policy due to recent public objection from applications to open new bottle stores.

“So we feel that it is something the community is looking for,” she said.

In 2021, a liquor store in Redwoodtown was stopped in its tracks following objections from the community. The location was close to a school, kindergarten, park and church.

The draft policy also proposed no new licences within 100m of a sensitive site unless located within business zone 1 or 2, which included Blenheim and Picton central business districts, and other small business areas such as in Springlands and Redwoodtown.

Winter said this was in line with policy already included in the Proposed Marlborough Environment Plan.

“So it would be contradictory to put new rules around it,” she said.

The draft plan also proposed to bring back the latest opening time for bars from 3am to 2am.

Winter said there was only one bar in town that opened that late, and most bars that did have a licence until 3am did not actually trade that early into the morning.

A one-way door policy was also proposed for any bar open past 1am, which Winter said helped stop intoxicated people migrating between bars.

“It's often suggested by the applicant as a solution to issues,” she said.

Off-licence trading hours would be reduced from 11pm to 10pm, although Winter said none of Marlborough’s supermarkets were open until 11pm anyway.

“We're really hoping that this draft policy will provide certainty for licensees,“ she said.

The committee approved the draft policy, which was subject to full council approval on April 3.

Once approved, the council would carry out special consultation, which meant they would notify stakeholder groups including licensees, health providers and mana whenua of the draft policy, hold meetings with community and interest groups, and actively promote participation in the consultation process.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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