Christchurch City Council is looking at developing a Local Alcohol Policy that sets out how alcohol should be sold and supplied in Christchurch.
Sign up for updates on the Draft Local Alcohol Policy
Any council can develop its own Local Alcohol Policy, in consultation with the local community. The Local Alcohol Policy can set rules around the number, location, and opening hours of licensed premises, such as bars, cafes and restaurants, supermarkets and bottle stores. These rules can apply across either the whole city and district or only in identified local areas.
Our Draft Local Alcohol Policy is now out for public feedback, and proposes three ways of tackling alcohol-related issues in the community. It was approved for consultation by the Mayor and councillors on 16 April, and is now out for feedback until midnight on Sunday 18 May 2025. Find out more and have your say here.(external link)
Please be mindful of your obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 when sharing information with us.
Broadly, any information you share with us that identifies an individual should have been collected by (with the individual’s consent) you for the purposes of submitting on the Local Alcohol Policy development.
Please refer to the Information Privacy Principles(external link) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s website(external link) for further information.
On Wednesday 5 June 2024, councillors voted for the Council to develop a draft Local Alcohol Policy with the wider community, following the 2023 amendments and recent case law made in the Supreme Court.
The Council paused its previous work on a draft Local Alcohol Policy in 2017 after a four-year process involving appeals and a judicial review.
Recent changes to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 have removed the requirement for councils to produce a provisional version of their Local Alcohol Policy first, as well as the ability of other parties to appeal any element of it.
This has simplified the process for councils developing their own Local Alcohol Policy, and for communities to participate in alcohol licensing decisions in their district.
We expect the whole process of developing a Local Alcohol Policy will take more than a year, starting from the Council’s decision to proceed. This is because legislation requires us to collect comprehensive data and information – we know there’s strong community interest in alcohol matters, so we need to allow sufficient time and opportunities to hear those views.
Our Draft Local Alcohol Policy was approved for consultation by the Mayor and councillors on 16 April 2025, and proposes three ways of tackling alcohol-related issues in the community. It is out for feedback until midnight on Sunday 18 May 2025. Read more on Newsline(external link) and have your say here(external link).
Once the Council has considered the views of the community and stakeholders, heard those who wish to speak to their submissions, and considered the staff report, they'll decide whether to adopt the Draft LAP. The process is expected to be completed before the local elections in October 2025. Once a Local Alcohol Policy is adopted, it must be reviewed every six years.
A Local Alcohol Policy may include policies on:
- Where licenced premises can be located – including any limits in particular areas or near certain types of facilities.
- Whether any new licences or types of licence can be issued in the district, or any part of the district.
- Restricting or extending the maximum trading hours set out in the Act.
- Any conditions that licences or types of licences should be subject to, for example, ‘one-way door’ conditions.
A Local Alcohol Policy cannot:
- Include policies on anything that does not directly relate to licensing.
- Be a substitute for general alcohol harm reduction strategies or plans, such as the Christchurch Alcohol Reduction Plan 2017–2021.