Council set to put issue of glass bottles back in play
The issue of glass bottles in North Dunedin is about to become a "high-priority topic" as the council prepares to send its alcohol policy back to the drawing board.
The Dunedin City Council developed a draft local alcohol policy (Lap) that was expected to come into effect earlier this year.
However, at Wednesday's council meeting, hearings committee chairman Jim O'Malley said the policy had been recommended for reconsultation, expected to begin in 2026, and to include formal discussions on the sale of glass bottles around the University of Otago.
At hearings in December, police called for a ban on the sale of alcohol in glass containers that had a volume 500ml or less from premises within a 1200m radius of the university, which they defined as 362 Leith St.
Cr O'Malley said the "glass problem" had not been part of the consultation document but the council needed to directly consult the North Dunedin community before a decision was made.
"It is clearly going to move to a high-priority topic," he said.
There had not been "sufficient engagement" on the LAP with the council's partner agencies, he said.
"We felt as a committee that it was better to do the process properly, because it's a six-year period, than to go forward with what we considered was a not properly consulted-on pre-consultation document."
The current policy came into effect in February 2019. The council is required to review it within six years.
Cr O'Malley said while the existing LAP would lapse, it "effectively" remained in place until updated.
Dunedin was one of about half a dozen cities that would have lapsed alcohol policies.
The draft plan contained several proposed changes, including reducing the time off-licence premises could sell alcohol by an hour, banning promotion of alcohol on the exterior of premises and a temporary freeze on new off-licence premises north of the Octagon.
A council spokesman said a report on the matter would go to the council in coming months.
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