Hawke’s Bay District Health Board’s Medical Officer of Health is opposing the opening of a new bottle store proposed for Heretaunga Street East-Hastings.
Medical Officer of Health Rachel Eyre said the district health board was opposing the new bottle shop, primarily because there were a number of schools and kindergartens close-by, and members of the community were worried about it and the harm it could cause.
Dr Eyre said in Hawke’s Bay alcohol contributed to many health issues, acute and chronic, and at higher levels than seen nationally, with one in four adults in Hawke’s Bay drinking hazardously. The national average is one in five.
“Hastings already has a lot of bottle stores, higher than the national average and higher than the Hawke’s Bay average. The area planned for the new bottle store is in a residential and more deprived area where there are a number of schools and early childhood education centres.”
The district health board had heard from a number of representatives from the community all expressing their concern at the proposal, and a number had also opposed the alcohol license application, she said.
The Hastings District Licensing Committee will consider the application at a public hearing on Friday, 14 December at 9am in the Landmarks Room, Ground Floor, Civic Administration Building, Lyndon Road East, Hastings.
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