Lisa Riley and her son on the site of the proposed Super Liquor store. Photo: Supplied/Lisa Riley
People in the small township of Lake Hāwea near Wānaka are objecting to plans for its first stand-alone bottle shop.
Queenstown Lakes District Council approved a non-notified resource consent application for a Super Liquor store in the Longview subdivision earlier this month. The retailer has now applied for a liquor licence.
Lisa Riley, whose family moved from Wellington to Lake Hāwea 18 months ago, said the store would be too close to a children's playground and a school bus stop.
"It is going to be just metres away from where my son catches his school bus and in close proximity to the playground where he plays.
"He rides his bike around the neighbourhood, we walk our dog nearby, and it's right at the gateway of our neighbourhood," she said.
"That raises huge red flags for me. It's not about opposing alcohol in general, it is about how close this is to our children every day and how it exposes them to that."
A public notice of an application for a liquor licence at the proposed site. Photo: Supplied/Lisa Riley
Local Warren Chinn said the bottle shop was unnecessary because three businesses already sold alcohol in Lake Hāwea - Hāwea Store & Kitchen, Lake Hāwea Hotel and Fresh Choice supermarket.
"If people want higher-strength alcohol they can go to Wānaka where there are at least three hard-liquor shops," he said.
"We could do with more useful shops - certainly not a shop that encourages getting boozed."
The public had until 23 June to lodge any objections to the liquor licence application.
Queenstown Lakes District Council said the Super Liquor store was approved in accordance with the Resource Management Act and district plan provisions that zoned the site as a local shopping centre.
"This zoning permits retail activities - defined as the direct sale or hire of goods to the public - as of right, provided the development meets the relevant planning rules," a spokesperson said.
"It is important to clarify that under the PDP (proposed district plan), council cannot regulate or prioritise types of retail activity (eg. groceries vs liquor) within such a zone as long as the activity falls within the defined and permitted use.
"In this case, the proposed development met the retail activity definition."
A Super Liquor spokesperson said each liquor licence application process was an opportunity for the prospective franchisee and the community to be heard.
"In this case, the operator making the application at Lake Hāwea is one our most experienced franchisees with a great reputation for the stores they already operate throughout Central Otago," they said.
The council said minor district plan rule breaches meant resource consent was required, including the size of the building, signs and access, but the application did not need to be publicly notified.
Public notices about the liquor licence application were published on the council website and would be placed on fences or boardings surrounding the proposed site and advertised in local newspapers, the council said.
The site of the proposed liquor store on Longview Drive. Photo: Supplied/Lisa Riley
Resident Kim Knight said she was surprised the council had not consulted the public about the resource consent.
"I don't understand why the community wasn't consulted first as to what shops and facilities they would like and need. Wouldn't that be the sensible thing to do?" she said.
"This is a whole cultural, societal issue in the country at large. It's indicative of a society that says it is okay to have a liquor store in a place like Hāwea and not even consult the community first."
Communities Against Alcohol Harm spokesperson Liz Gordon said it was common for liquor stores to be included in developments and for resource consent to be granted without being publicly notified.
She said Super Liquor would sell a wider range of alcohol compared to existing stores and could be problematic for the popular holiday destination.
"It is going to lead to an increase in alcohol-related litter, alcohol-related harm late at night and so on, perhaps in the New Year and perhaps where people are camping," she said.
"The other issue is the subdivision itself has got hundreds of tiny sections and includes a significant area where people can buy lower-cost housing.
"We are not talking here about a huge lake-side development, we're talking about a pokey little subdivision with hundreds and eventually a couple thousand houses that aren't built yet, having its own liquor store."
District councillor Cody Tucker, who lived in Lake Hāwea, said he had been approached by a number of people concerned about the bottle shop and its proximity to the playground.
"A lot of people for a long time have been asking for commercial facilities out in Hāwea, its been a long time coming, and I think it has been a bit of surprise this is the first cab off the rank," he said.
"Council as a consenting authority has an obligation to follow its statutory responsibilities. I appreciate that an alcohol store feels like a high area of interest, but there are still the roles and responsibilities of being a consenting authority in a free market economy."
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