Earlier bar closing a step closer

The closure of two Invercargill nightclubs in recent weeks had opened the door for 3am closing to be implemented at all city bars, a city councillor said.

Cr Darren Ludlow said he had yesterday asked a senior council staffer to reconvene a meeting of bar owners and other affected parties within a month to see if a consensus for a 3am closing time could be found.

With the prompting of police, the council introduced a policy in October requiring city bars to close at 3am instead of 4.30am in a bid to reduce crime and disorder in the city.

However, with the One Blue Dog and Tillermans nightclubs refusing to abide by the ruling, as they were legally entitled to do until their liquor licence expired, Cr Ludlow conceded there was little the council could do.

But with One Blue Dog and Tillermans both closing in recent weeks the issue was now being revisited, said Cr Ludlow, the chairman of the council's environmental and planning services committee which introduced the 3am policy.

He was confident the remaining city bars would agree to 3am closing, as they had previously indicated they would provided everyone complied.

"I expect we will have a consensus ... and if so we will proceed with a 3am accord and set a date to put it in place," Cr Ludlow said.

Southland police Area Commander Inspector Barry Taylor said he welcomed further discussions with affected parties on the issue.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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