Council votes to rethink Local Alcohol Policy

Christchurch City Council has decided not to push ahead with its Provisional Local Alcohol Policy.

Instead it is going to work with the community to develop a new Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) that takes into account the changes that have occurred in Christchurch in recent years.

The Provisional LAP was designed to minimise alcohol related harm.

“It’s been more than five years since we started developing the Provisional Local Alcohol Policy  and since then there have been significant changes in Christchurch, particularly in the central city,” says Helen Beaumont, the Council’s Head of Strategic Policy.

“The city’s hospitality industry has evolved - it has new people involved and new ways of operating.

“The Provisional LAP was designed to minimise alcohol related harm by setting restrictions on where and when alcohol can be sold but what was appropriate at the start of the decade may not reflect the evolution that has occurred in the hospitality industry since then,’’ Ms Beaumont says.

“We also have the central city provisions of the replacement Christchurch District Plan in effect now, which gives us certainty regarding planning rules and what we can expect to see in our future development pattern.

“All those changes need to be taken into account,’’ Ms Beaumont says.

While the Council is going back to the drawing board with the LAP, it will not be starting from scratch and the work done to date will not be wasted.

“We have the know-how, the relationships and all the background information in place so we estimate we can have our new LAP operating within 18 months,’’ Ms Beaumont says.

The Council has spent about $1.1 million on the Provisional Local Alcohol Policy and associated appeals.