Police, the medical officer of health and the licensing inspector have all opposed the renewal of the licence for Bottle-O Mosgiel, in Factory Rd, after it was found to be trading days after its licence expired late last year.
A hearing is set for next week in Dunedin for the two sides to present their positions before the district licensing committee.
A report to the committee, by alcohol, psychoactive substances and gambling adviser Kevin Mechen, said the applicants, Patricia and Kenneth McCarthy, first licensed the premises on November 23, 2001.
In the beginning the business was part of the Super Liquor group, but it became a Bottle-O franchise late last year.
There had been seven renewals of the licence prior to this application, the report said.
The McCarthys’ previous licence expired on November 23 last year, and although the applicants paid for their licence renewal on that date, they did not submit an application to renew it, the report said.
A visit to the store on November 27 found it to still be selling alcohol and police ordered them to shut up shop.
However, on the grounds the failure to submit the application was not wilful, a waiver was ultimately granted, subject to the submission of an application to renew the licence.
The following public notice of the application did not attract any opposition, but the three reporting agencies opposed it.
Further, police submitted an appeal to the waiver to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority and said because the committee erred in granting the waiver it should not hear the application renewal.
Moreover, the applicants had previously appeared before the authority for failures in controlled purchase operations, the latest being in 2020, police said.
"The police state that for a licensee with over 22 years’ experience, they demonstrate consistent failure to implement appropriate systems, staff, and training to ensure the premises is operated in a responsible manner and the object of the Act is met", the report said.
The premises was near a high-deprivation area with "frequent incidents of violence, family harm, traffic offending, and disorder offences", it said.
Police believed the amenity and good order of the area would improve if the application was denied.
The medical officer of health and the licensing inspector also held concerns about the suitability of the applicants to hold a licence.
The report said after more than 20 years in the industry, the applicants "appear not to be aware of the basic requirements of a licensee".
"They also do not maintain the required documentation despite this being an issue raised at other hearings involving their various premises."
