Larry Williams Drive

Napier residents will still be able to dance the night away.  The City Council has rejected a proposal that would force bars to close an hour earlier – at 2am instead of 3.  It was part of the city’s draft Local Alcohol Policy.  Councillor Richard McGrath told Heather du Plessis-Allan that though they had evidence that connected alcohol and trouble, there didn’t seem to be a correlation between that and age.  He says that in the same time period, there was roughly an equivalent amount of harm in a suburb with two alcohol licenses as there was in the suburb with the nightclub – an area that has up to 30 licenses.   McGrath says that in his view, there’s no evidence its the clubs and pubs causing the problems as opposed to off-licenses and house parties.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.