Ashburton police back booze ban expansion

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

It’s hoped banning booze from more of Ashburton will help reduce alcohol fuelled crime.

The Ashburton District Council is set to adopt an updated alcohol control bylaw, which extends existing liquor ban areas in Ashburton and Methven.

The intention of the bylaw is to stop people drinking in specific public areas, to reduce the potential for alcohol-related offensive behaviour and harm, damage, disorder, and crime.

Police are backing the move, saying “side loading”, aka leaving a licensed premises to drink alcohol somewhere in public nearby, is a big issue.

Acting Senior Sergeant Janine Bowden told councillors at the recent submission hearing it was a regular occurrence and she had seen evidence of both pre-and side loading through alcohol containers and bottles discarded outside and around licensed premises and in areas like car parks.

“Duty managers in licensed premises have obligations in relation to intoxication and managing that.

“When people go outside, they can also consume alcohol in an uncontrolled way and then go back into licensed premises.”

In response to feedback suggesting police were not enforcing the bans, Bowden said police were actively patrolling areas in “high risk times” in relation to intoxication and harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

The proposed liquor ban extension was a good fit with the police prevention model, she said.

“Obviously there is that enforcement arm of the police but it’s better to prevent something than enforce it.”

Bowden holds the role of alcohol harm reduction officer in Ashburton and said the bylaw provides police with a prevention tool.

“I don’t think anyone wants young people under 18 years of age in and around the public areas consuming alcohol.”

Meanwhile, councillor Richard Wilson raised concerns that there was too much room for interpretation in the bylaw and it could see people caught out with “booze in the boot”, such as when they had bought alcohol and were taking it home.

At the hearing he asked Bowden how police would enforce the bylaw when it came to the “extreme” of transporting cough medicine, defined as alcohol in the bylaw, through a liquor ban area.

Police will take a “sensible, pragmatic view” to enforcing the bylaw, she replied.

Under the Local Government Act there are a number of exemptions for the transportation of unopened bottles or containers of alcohol through alcohol ban areas, which include carrying alcohol bought from an off-license, and carrying alcohol to or from private residences.

The bylaw consultation had 28 submissions and the council deliberated on the feedback last week, with a final draft of the bylaw to come before council on May 17.

Three new sections added in Ashburton are:
1: River crossing retail precinct up to Kermode St, SH1 across to Cass St.
2: Ashburton Central Retail area, bordered by Cass St, Moore St, William St and Tancred St.
3: Countdown down to the Regent Cinema, the block of East St, Wills St, Peter St and Cass St.
In Methven the only addition is incorporating the full length of Mackie St and extending along Methven Chertsey Rd to make the boundary clearer to residents.