Police have urged an alcohol licensing committee not to be “wowed” into granting an off-licence to a new supermarket about to open in Hastings.
Police appeared alongside the Medical Officer of Health, the Hastings District Council’s licensing inspector and one member of the public speaking in opposition to the licence application in Hastings on Thursday.
The application was made in February by General Distributors Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolworths, which is opening the new $25 million Woolworths Flaxmere supermarket in early July.
Sergeant Ray Wylie urged the committee “not to be distracted or wowed by the investment GDL are making in beautifying and investing into the area of Flaxmere and to keep at the forefront of your decision-making the object of the [Sale and Supply of Alcohol] Act”.
He said Flaxmere was disproportionately vulnerable to alcohol-related harm and if the application was granted it would make the supermarket the major supplier of alcohol in the community, “increasing exposure and ease of access to beer and wine”.
