Notice of Meeting:
I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the District Licensing Committee will be held on:
Date: Monday 14 November 2022
Time: 1:00pm
Venue: Plaza Conference Room, Ground Floor, Civic Centre, The Octagon, Dunedin
Sandy Graham
Chief Executive Officer
District Licensing Committee
Quicker Liquor - Renewal of Off-Licence
PUBLIC AGENDA
MEMBERSHIP
Chairperson |
Colin Weatherall |
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Members |
Rakei Amohau |
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Karen Elliot |
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Senior Officer Kevin Mechen, Secretary, District Licensing Committee
Governance Support Officer Lynne Adamson
Lynne Adamson
Governance Support Officer
Telephone: 03 477 4000
Lynne.Adamson@dcc.govt.nz
Note: Reports and recommendations contained in this agenda are not to be considered as Council policy until adopted.
District Licensing Committee 14 November 2022 |
ITEM TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
1 Apologies 4
2 Confirmation of Agenda 4
Part A Reports (Committee has power to decide these matters)
3 Report for Renewal of Off-licence, "Quicker Liquor" – From Secretary, District Licensing Committee 5
District Licensing Committee 14 November 2022 |
At the close of the agenda no apologies had been received.
Note: Any additions must be approved by resolution with an explanation as to why they cannot be delayed until a future meeting.
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District Licensing Committee 14 November 2022 |
Report for Renewal of Off-licence, "Quicker Liquor" – From Secretary, District Licensing Committee
Department: Civic
APPLICATION DESCRIPTION
Applicant’s Name: |
MJ Enterprises Limited |
Site Address |
384 George Street, Dunedin |
Trading Name: |
Quicker Liquor |
Style of Licence |
Off-licence |
Application Number |
OFF-11-2012 |
Date received by Council |
5 May 2022 |
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 This is a report for an application for the renewal of an off-licence for the premises situated at 384 George Street, Dunedin, and known as “Quicker Liquor”. The criteria found at section 131 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (the Act) apply to this application.
2 The applicant dd not seek any changes to the licence however, after discussion with the reporting agencies, the licence hours will be reduced.
3 Public Notice of the renewal did not attract any objections. The Police has opposed the application and has suggested the inclusion of extra conditions, and this is supported by the Licensing Inspector.
APPLICANT AND APPLICATION
4 The Applicant company, MJ Enterprises Limited, has two director/shareholders, Mrs P McCarthy and Mr K McCarthy. They have several businesses operating off-licence premises in Dunedin.
5 The licence for this premises was first issued on 15 May 2013 by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority after it had been opposed by the Police and Licensing Inspector. At the hearing the parties indicated they wanted to negotiate an outcome which was subsequently confirmed by the Authority.
6 The licensed hours of the first licence were Monday to Sunday 8.00 am to 11.00 pm. The closing time was amended to 10.00 pm at the 2017 renewal.
PUBLIC NOTICE
7 Public Notice of renewal application did not attract any objections.
8 The reporting agencies, Police, Medical Office of Health and Licensing Inspector have reported. The Police has opposed the renewal application but seeks two additional conditions to be included on the licence if the renewal is granted. The Licensing Inspector supports the stance of the Police. The Medical Officer of Health has no issue with the application.
Police
9 The Police concern is related to the type of product being sold in an area that targets the vulnerable student market community as well as the inner-city homeless population.
a) The sale of single serve, high alcohol content at cheap prices is contrary to the object of the Act. Selling these products in single units, within the community the premises is situated, is exposing people to higher levels of harm.
b) The suitability of the licensee is questionable because they are knowingly carrying out the sale of the abovementioned products.
c) The amenity and good order of the area is affected by the sale of alcohol to residents in the area where flat parties are often the subject of Police calls for service. While there is no evidence directly relating the alcohol consumed in these situations as being bought from this premises, it is one of the closest off-licences to the area of high Police demand.
10 The Police believe that the inclusion of a condition to exclude external advertising of alcohol and that there shall be no single unit sales of RTDs, shots or beer or cider in containers of 500 ml or less, with the exception of craft beer, would help mitigate further alcohol-related harm in the area.
Licensing Inspector
11 The Licensing Inspector agrees with the Police position that the two suggested conditions for inclusion on the licence would create a fairer and even playing field for off-licence premises in the city.
12 The Inspector has twice requested a copy of the store’s roster, but this has not been supplied. The reason for the request was to confirm there were sufficient staff to ensure compliance with the provisions of the employment laws.
13 The suitability of the applicant is in doubt because the information supplied appears to show there is insufficient staff rostered to cover legally required breaks during a shift. An email sent by the applicant shows only one person to cover operating hours of 10.00 am to 10.00 pm.
CONCLUSION
14 This application is for the renewal of an off-licence situated in the northern end of George Street’s shopping precinct. This area is close to student residential accommodation and the Police comment is that they are regularly receiving calls for service to alcohol-fuelled disorder.
15 The main issue for the Police is the sale of single unit, high alcohol drinks at cheap prices.
16 They have suggested the inclusion of two conditions to the licence: to not have external advertising/promotion of alcohol and the prohibition of selling single units of RTDs, shots, beer or cider in containers 500 ml or less. This would not include craft beer.
17 The Licensing Inspector has questioned the staffing of the premises. It would appear that there are insufficient staff rostered to comply with the employment laws in New Zealand and this is exacerbated by the applicant not supplying rosters when requested.
18 The applicant has agreed to a reduction in licensed hours to better reflect their trading practice. The new hours would be Monday to Sunday 10.00 am to 10.00 pm.
Signatories
Author: |
Kevin Mechen - Secretary, District Licensing Committee |
Authoriser: |
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Title |
Page |
⇩a |
Off-licence Renewal Application |
8 |
⇩b |
Licensing Inspector's Report |
19 |
⇩c |
Police Opposition |
23 |
⇩d |
Medical Officer of Health Report |
26 |
⇩e |
FENZ Email |
27 |
⇩f |
Email to Confirm Reduction in Hours |
28 |
⇩g |
Email re Roster |
30 |
⇩h |
Email - Second Request for Rosters |
31 |
⇩i |
Public Notice Declaration |
32 |
⇩j |
First Public Notice ODT |
33 |
⇩k |
Second Public Notice ODT |
34 |