News Release
Wednesday 16 April 2014

Reduction in liquor licence fees for some Rotorua cafes

Rotorua District Council is to reduce liquor licence fees for cafes not open for evening trade.

The decision was made at this morning’s [16 April 2014] meeting of the council’s Strategy, Finance & Policy Committee.

The new liquor licensing arrangement means that cafes operating no later than 6pm on any day will move into a lower licence category with reduced fees. The council estimates that the changes will apply to around 10 currently licensed cafes in the district.

Councillor Karen Hunt, chair of the Rotorua District Licensing Committee, said the changes would mean a savings in annual fees for qualifying café businesses of $231, with the fee reducing from $391 to $161 per annum.

Three-yearly liquor licence renewal applications for these businesses would also reduce from the current $609.50 down to $368.

“This is an acknowledgement that these daytime businesses have different trading patterns from those that open for night-time trade. For council compliance purposes they are generally regarded as being ‘low risk’ licensed businesses and therefore our costs for monitoring and inspections are lower.

“We were approached by one cafe business and asked to have a look at whether such a change could be considered and we were happy to do so. As a result we’ve decided today to offer the same reduced fee arrangement to all similar café businesses not trading at night.

“It’s also another signal that this council wants to be a business-friendly one so we can encourage investment and support retail revitalisation in Rotorua.”

Mrs Hunt said the total cost to the council of the new reduced fees was estimated to be $9,315 a year in reduced revenue if all qualifying cafes opted into the new licensing arrangement.

[ENDS]

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