Lower Hutt Police delighted at LLA decision to shut down Hutt bar

Lower Hutt Police are delighted with the Liquor Licensing Authority's decision to cancel the licence for Flanagan's Bar and Grill.

A hearing was held earlier this month where applications were made by Lower Hutt Police in relation to a total of 98 incidents, which were alleged to have breached sections of the Sale of Liquor Act.

These included selling or supplying liquor to an intoxicated person, allowing a person to become intoxicated in a licensed premises, and permitting any violent, quarrelsome, insulting or disorderly conduct to take place on the licensed premises.

Lower Hutt Police Emergency Response Manager Inspector Shane Cotter says the recent decision by the Liquor Licensing Authority (LLA) sends a very clear message to other licensed premises in the Hutt Valley that if they don't comply with their obligations under the Sale of Liquor Act, this type of action can and will be taken.

"We are certainly more than willing to speak to any other licensees within the Hutt Valley area, to educate them about their obligations are under the law. We have done this in the past, and intend to do this again in the future, to ensure we continue to have an ongoing positive working relationship with local licensees."

The LLA's decision found that there were liquor abuse problems occurring at Flanagan's which were of real concern to the Police and other agencies by early September last year, having opened in July.

Inspector Cotter says, "These problems continued to occur despite Police intervention, prompting us to take enforcement action when other efforts to gain compliance of the liquor licensing laws failed."

The license for Flanagan's Bar and Grill has been cancelled, effective from 2 May 2011.

The LLA decision states that given the history of the licensee and its abject failure to date, the Authority has no confidence that is has the capacity or ability to reduce liquor abuse if the license was allowed to continue.