The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act allows councils to develop local alcohol policies that set out rules and conditions about how alcohol is sold and supplied in their districts. If a council has a Local Alcohol Policy (LAP), licensing bodies must consider it when making decisions about alcohol licensing applications.

The purpose of a LAP is to help ensure that the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol is undertaken safely and responsibly, and to minimise alcohol-related harm. A LAP can set policies that restrict the number, location, and opening hours of licensed premises, such as bars, cafes and restaurants, supermarkets and bottle stores. The policies in a LAP can apply across either the whole city and district or only in identified local areas.

Any council wishing to have one must follow a process set out in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, which includes considering local data and producing a draft policy to formally consult on.

In 2024, Christchurch City Council began to work towards development of a LAP for Christchurch and Banks Peninsula by gathering data and completing a research report. The research report identified that alcohol-related harm is occurring in some of our communities.

From this research, discussions with stakeholders, and community feedback, we’ve identified five possible options for conditions and rules that a LAP could include. We need your help to test and refine those options and tell us if you think there are other non-LAP options we could also consider, before we draft a LAP to consult on.

The options we're considering

Click on each of the options below to find out more.

Off-licences are provided to an outlet which sells alcohol that is taken away from the premises and consumed, such as supermarkets, bottle stores, wineries and small convenience stores. A LAP can set conditions for maximum trading hours for all or some off-licences.

Remote sellers would be exempt

This option would not apply to premises which hold an off-licence under section 40 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act (remote sellers). Remote sellers can sell alcohol online, by phone or by mail order, but not to customers who are physically at their premises. Remote sellers are exempt from trading hours restrictions under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. However, they are bound by the restrictions in the Act regarding the hours they can deliver alcohol.

Impact on outlets

Most of the city’s off-licensed outlets could be affected by this option. Currently, only 54 of the city’s 256 off-licenced outlets hold licences requiring them to close by 9pm, 72 are allowed to sell alcohol until 10pm and 105 can sell alcohol until 11pm. (There are 25 that do not offer a shopfront and can sell alcohol remotely at any time).

Advantages and disadvantages of reducing trading hours for off-licenses:

For more information about this option, view the issues and options report.

Questions to consider:

On-licences and club licences allow venues to sell alcohol that is consumed on site such as cafés, restaurants, pubs, working men’s clubs, sports clubs and night clubs. Currently the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act allows trading until 4am. A LAP can set conditions for maximum trading hours for all or some on-licence venues.

Our licensing data indicates that if we were to include a reduction of trading hours to 1am in suburban areas, 78 (16%) of the 487 on-licence venues operating outside of the city centre could be affected by this option.

This option aims to reduce alcohol harm by restricting the availability of alcohol in suburban areas in order to reduce how much is consumed. Research suggests reducing alcohol consumption is likely to reduce alcohol-related harm. However, we also need to balance mitigating the risk of harm associated with long hours of alcohol availability with the desire to provide some vibrancy in our suburban centres at night.

Community views

There are mixed community views on whether venues in suburban areas are open too long, or not long enough. In the Life in Christchurch survey respondents told us that:

• For pubs, bars and nightclubs in their neighbourhood, 44% think hours are ‘about right’, 48% ‘too long’ and 4% ‘too short’.
• For restaurants or cafés, 49% think hours are ‘about right’, 43% ‘too long’ and 4% ‘too short’.
• For social/sports clubs, 35% think hours are ‘about right’, 56% ‘too long’ and 3% ‘too short’.

Currently under the Sale and Supply of Liquor Act venues can be granted licences to operate until 4am each day. We are considering whether we should reduce that time to earlier in the evening through a LAP.

Advantages and disadvantages of reducing trading hours for on-licences:

For more information about this option, view the issues and options report.

Questions to consider:

A LAP can include a policy on whether licences can be issued at all, such as placing a ‘freeze’ on new licences. A freeze would mean that licences could not be issued for a period of time for any or all types of licence or, in all or only some areas.

High deprivation areas are generally considered to be locations that have a score of 9 or 10 on the New Zealand deprivation index. The index considers are range of factors – for example, numbers of people not living in their own home, unemployment numbers, households with no access to internet at home, numbers living in unhealthy homes, etc.

Disclaimer: we are only focusing on areas that are most deprived (9 - 10) for the LAP.

If you're having trouble looking at this map or want to view deprivation mapping on the suburb level, you can view an interactive version at EHINZ. For further information on deprivation mapping, visit the University of Otago website.

Advantages and disadvantages of implementing a temporary freeze of new licenses in high deprivation areas:

For more information about this option, view the issues and options report.

Questions to consider:

More than 70% of survey respondents in the 2024 Life in Christchurch survey told us they think restrictions should apply on how close a licenced venue or outlet is located to community facilities they considered sensitive, so we want to explore this further.

Advantages and disadvantages of restricting new licensed venues and outlets near sensitive community facilities:

For more information about this option, view the issues and options report.

Question to consider:

• What facilities you think any restrictions should apply to, and how close should a licensed venue or outlet be allowed to be located?

A ‘one-way door’ restriction means that people must be inside a venue, such as a bar or nightclub, by a specific time, and that people cannot enter or re-enter any venue after that time. A LAP can apply a one-way door restriction to on-licence venues at a specific time during their operating hours.

The restriction could also reduce the risk of harm that can occur from people moving between venues after consuming alcohol for a long period of time.

Licensing data indicates that if we did put a one-way door restriction in place at 2am, 101 venues could be affected, – 63 in the central city and 37 in suburban areas. If a reduction in trading hours for on-licence venues in suburban areas was implemented, any one-way door restriction would only apply to venues in the central city.

Advantages and disadvantages of reducing trading hours for off-licenses:

For more information about this option, view the issues and options report.

Questions to consider:

• Do you think a one-way door restriction should be implemented?
• If we did, what time should it take effect?
• Should it apply to all venues or only some?

There may be other mechanisms you think Council should investigate developing to help reduce alcohol related harm instead of or in addition to developing a Local Alcohol Policy. We want to hear what ideas you have, tell us what you think by filling out the survey.

Location - Can determine where licensed premises can be located - including any limits in particular areas or near certain types of facilities.

Licensing - Can determine whether any new licences or types of licence can be issued in the district, or any part of the district.

Trading hours - Can restrict or extend the maximum trading hours set out in the Act for any or all licence types.

Conditions - Can influence any conditions that licences or types of licences should be subject to, for example, 'one-way door' conditions.

Out of scope - Cannot include policies on anything that does not directly relate to licensing.

Inappropriate substitution - Cannot be a substitute for general alcohol harm reduction strategies or plans.

The research report draws on local, regional and national data. It includes information that councils must consider when producing a draft local alcohol policy:

• The objectives and policies of its district plan.
• The number of licences of each kind held for premises in its district, and the location and opening hours of each of the premises.
• Any areas in which bylaws prohibiting alcohol in public places are in force.
• The demography of the district’s residents.
• The demography of people who visit the district as tourists or holidaymakers.
• The overall health indicators of the district’s residents.
• The nature and severity of the alcohol-related problems arising in the district.

The summary of findings were that:

• Alcohol is a contributing factor to many incidents NZ Police respond to. Over the four years from 2020 to 2023, NZ Police recorded 36,705 incidents in Christchurch where alcohol was identified as a contributing factor – around 9000 each year.
• Many residents have drinking habits that place them or others at risk of harm. The Canterbury Wellbeing Survey found that 6.8% of females and 7.9% of males drink more alcoholic drinks in an average week than recommended by New Zealand guidelines.
• Alcohol is affecting people’s health. Nationally, alcohol consumption was attributable to 2.7% of all deaths, 2.8% of all hospitalisations and 4.8% of cancer registrations in 2018, and Christchurch has a significantly higher hospitalisation rate for conditions wholly attributable to alcohol than other major cities.
• Drink driving has increased over the past four years. Over the four years from 2020 to 2023, there were 5744 drink driving offences in Christchurch, increasing from 1279 in 2020 to 1660 in 2023.
• Many residents report alcohol-related harm or alcohol-related issues in their area. Nationally, almost half (46%) of those surveyed reported experiencing harm from either their own or someone else’s drinking in the past year. Christchurch survey data indicates that almost a quarter of residents (23%) consider alcohol and drug-related issues are ‘a big problem’ in the city, and nearly half (48%) think they are ‘a bit of a problem’.
• Some people are more affected by alcohol-related harm than others. Māori, young people and males are more likely to have hazardous drinking patterns and are overrepresented in health data on deaths or conditions that are attributable to alcohol.
• Some communities are more affected than others. Around a third of all alcohol-related incidents attended by NZ Police are in the east of the city. Another third of incidents are split across the central city and the central northwest (which includes the Riccarton, Merivale and Papanui/Northlands commercial centres). Relatively few incidents occur in Banks Peninsula. In the Life in Christchurch survey, residents in the Burwood, Central, Coastal, Linwood and Riccarton wards were more likely to say that some or most of various alcohol-related issues occur frequently in their neighbourhoods.
• Communities with higher levels of deprivation are disproportionately affected. In Christchurch, NZ Police attend more alcohol-related incidents in areas of high deprivation than in less deprived areas. In the east of the city, half (51%) of all alcohol-related incidents attended by the Police and 40% of incidents in public places occur in areas with the highest levels of deprivation. People in the most deprived areas of the city are more likely to perceive alcohol and drug problems as ‘a big problem’ than those in the least deprived areas. Life in Christchurch survey findings suggest that those living in wards with higher levels of deprivation are more likely to experience alcohol-related issues in their area and have concerns with various aspects of current alcohol licensing rules.

Licensing data indicates there are more on-licence and off-licence premises in areas of high deprivation, and they generally have earlier opening and later closing times. In our early engagement, we’ve heard concerns about a concentration of premises in more deprived areas and the effect that can have on reducing the price of alcohol, and increasing consumption, in these areas. This effect is also discussed in available economic literature.