11 June 2004

Christchurch booze ban bylaw gets Council committee support

The area around the University of Canterbury in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam should be considered for a public area liquor ban, a City Council committee is recommending.

The Council’s Regulatory and Consents Committee has this week been considering submissions on a proposed new bylaw -- the Christchurch City Liquor Control Bylaw 2004 – which would extend the city’s existing central liquor ban to 24-hours, seven-days-a-week and bring in bans in three other parts of the city -- along the Sumner Esplanade, at Spencer Park in the city’s north east, and in a large area east and west of Colombo Street from Moorhouse Avenue to the foot of the Port Hills.

To come into force, the bylaw proposal now needs the support of the full City Council, which will consider it at its next meeting, on 1 July.

The area around the university was not considered in the public consultation done earlier this year for the bylaw. However, the committee listened to an Ilam resident this week who presented a petition signed by 115 residents of the area asking that their neighbourhood be considered.

Committee chair Sue Wells says the bylaw, if supported by the full Council, would allow other ban areas to be added.

“It’s clear there are issues around the university that need to be explored through consultation to see if there’s a need to include it in the ban bylaw,” Cr Wells says.

The current central city liquor ban, which was introduced in December 2002 at the request of the Police, ends this year. The Police asked for a new bylaw to continue the central city ban and to add two other areas -- Colombo Street South and the Esplanade Sumner -- where they are having regular problems with undesirable behaviour linked to alcohol. The aim of the bylaw is to prevent the undesirable behaviour of a small section of the community who drink in public. This behaviour ranges from violence and criminal activity to vomiting and urinating in public.

ENDS

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