Committee Declines To Renew Hotel Licences

Chronicle (Levin), 3 June 1949, Page 6

Committee Declines To Renew Hotel Licences

CHRISTCHURCH, June 2. Only tyvo hotels 'out of .34 in the Christchurch licensing district coniplied with the requirem.ep.ts of the Christ1 ehurch City Council's means - of egress by-law, said the chairman, Mr F. F. Reid, S.M., at the annual. meeting of the Licensing Committee to-day. Broadly speaking, nothing wliatevur had been done since the licensees had been warned last January that the stan dard code means of egre&s was being adopted by" the City Council, said Mr Reid. The committee had power to suspend licences and if it was satified thar no genuine attempt was being made to comply with the requirements of the >iy-law, it would not hesitate to invoke that power. ■ 1 The committee views with considerable dissatisfaction the non-compli-ance by owners of premises, with the Jhristehurch by-law N.Or 32— trmeans o/ ' ogress — . said Mr Reid. Out of- the ' 34 hotels in this licensing -district, - , Gn l| ' two comply -with the 'by-law>. Reporti ■ 'mdicate that contracts havephfeen; : Ht ' in the case of niany hotels, w-bifch mea;i| that the re are 16 hotels where nosStepii whatever apxiear to: have been' takeoi; to coifiply Avith tlie by-law. At tlie annual meeting last year the committee notified owners and licensees that fire escapes, as they then stood, would be ac•epied for the then forthconiiiig -lice ti1 sing year but they. were warned 1 t8 watch closely any recommendations that might be embodied within the Royal Conimission report and-bc ready tp lomply with thenj. h' , p klr Reid said'«tj.at in January, jth| jhairman of different licensing compiit|l ees. in Christchurch 0 and.. the Nprtif ' Canterbury disfrictm, causetf to be sen.| ' , ;o all licensees. and owners, a circulaf i drawing their attention to the fact th-i^ msofar as the city of Christchurch was ;oncerned, the standard code means oi igress was being adopted by the City Council as a by-law and they were .varned in their own interests to take unmediate stcps towards seeing that the requirements of the code were cotnplieJ with before the meeting to-day. 1 ' The response to that warning has been most msatisfactory," he adiled. "The committee appreciates the difficulties of the situation and is awarc that it was probablv not possiblc for this to have been done within that time, but the fact remains ' that, broadly speaking, nothing whatever has been done." The committee would not grant renewals in respect of any hotels exceut the two that coniplied with. the by-law, MT Reid continified. All other applications would st-and adjourned to the next meeting of committee. "By that tinie •the committee requires all such, work, if not eompleted to be at least in haud

or -a defiit^je^'cbntra^jf^T;^ en tered ' ^fie said. Mr Rei^ censees to^ 'the"pfo'visioiiysQf Mibseetion 5, of the Licehsing Auienj'l-. ment Act l"948, which empowered licetiing 'cotnxhittqekto sqspen^'a liceirce for such' period and upo"n such conditions as it thought tit. While any licenee was s'o suspendcd, the holder would not be deemed a licensed person and the pre mises would not be deemed licensed premises. "The committee hopes that it will n'ot be necessary to invoke this power but it will not hesitate to invoke it in any case where it is satisfied the iicensee or owner of any premises is not making or has not made a genuine at. tempt to comply with the requirements of the by-law," he concluded.