20 Oct 2018

Kilbirnie community calls for liquor ban to be extended

9:41 am on 20 October 2018

Residents and businesses in the Wellington suburb of Kilbirnie want the City Council to extend a liquor ban into their area.

Alcohol section in Pak n Save Kilbirnie.

Alcohol section in Pak n Save Kilbirnie. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

Many Kilbirnie residents say when the liquor ban was extended in 2010 to include nearby Newtown, it simply drove the problem of aggressive drunks into their suburb .

They have complained of being harassed by drunken homeless people,

Gary Holmes from the Kilbirnie Business Network said retailers were also having to deal with more anti-social behaviour.

"Urination, threatening behaviour, even physical harm being done to staff and people in the area...that's why we really want to try and crack down on this and we believe putting in a 24/7 liquor ban is certainly a step in the right direction to start solving that problem."

Wellington City Council is reviewing the Liquor Control bylaw which expires in December.