Bars in Tauranga’s CBD are worried an earlier closing time will be tough on businesses that are already quiet.

From February next year city centre bars will have to close at 2am instead of 3am and one-way door restrictions would start at 1am. People won't be able to enter a licensed premise after 1am and if they leave, they can’t return.

These are provisions of the Local Alcohol Policy that was adopted at a Tauranga City Council Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee Meeting on Monday. [SUBS October 30]

The policy has gone through several changes and public engagement since November 2021. The council waited to adopt it until after the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Community Participation) Amendment Act 2023 came into force in August.

The 2am closing time is a shift from what the committee decided last June and consulted on. The last draft policy retained the 3am closing time.

Cornerstone Bar opens until 3am on weekends with live bands playing until close.

One of the managers, Natalie McDonald, said weekends have been “pretty quiet” so to lose an hour of trading was “pretty tough” for Tauranga’s hospitality venues.

"Having that whole hour cut off is quite a lot of business to lose.”

The committee wanted to prevent people travelling from bars in Mount Maunganui to Tauranga to continue drinking.

Commissioner Stephen Selwood didn't want people going from the Mount to Tauranga to get their last hour of drinking in. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Commissioner Stephen Selwood said: “I think a consistent closing time is the most important. Otherwise you're just encouraging people to go from one side of town to the other, to get their last hour in.”

There was confusion over when bars in the Mount shut, but staff informed the committee it was 1am.

This prompted the committee to include the one-way door policy from 1am.

Commission chair Anne Tolley said: “That's what we're trying to stop. They leave the Mount and come to the centre city.”

McDonald said if people were at a point where they shouldn’t be drinking anymore, then that was fine. However, those that could continue their night should be allowed to.

“It's a lot of business that we could potentially have that will be now ... not be coming over here.

“Everyone knows that the Mount is busier than the city at the moment.

“You only need to walk down the street on a Friday or Saturday night to see how quiet it is in the CBD.”

Crown and Badger operations manager Katja Halbgewachs agreed it would prevent people coming from the Mount.

The English style tavern has a licence until 2am so won’t be affected by the closing time but the one-way door policy would have an impact, she said.

“We definitely think it's going to be bad for the city centre. We're not a fan of the decision.”

Miss Gee's owner Ashleigh Gee. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Miss Gee's Bar and Eatery also opens until 3am on Friday and Saturday. Owner Ashleigh Gee declined to comment on the new closing hours.

She previously told Local Democracy Reporting the 2am close would impact her business “pretty extensively”.

“It would've impacted a lot of the bars and that would trickle backwards into people being less likely to go to the CBD for dinner and after dinner drinks, because the vibe would just basically evaporate.”

The Local Alcohol Policy also included other changes, including shifting the time shops with an off licence could start selling alcohol from 7am to 10 am.

New liquor stores would not be allowed to open in areas with a deprivation index of nine or more. A deprivation index is a measure of socioeconomic deprivation.

There was no change to off licences being able to open in industrial areas.

The Local Alcohol Policy will be publicly notified on November 11 and the changes will be in place from February 12 2024.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.