Indigo Room, in Moray Pl, has been granted an on-licence by Dunedin’s district licensing committee following a hearing last month.
The bar is able to sell alcohol between 11am and 3am, seven days a week, with a one-way door policy from 2.30am.
The application was initially opposed by police, the licensing inspector and the medical officer of health.
In its decision, committee secretary Kevin Mechen said the application by Aika & Co 2016 Ltd was the result of the applicant failing to renew its previous licence on time, which led to the licence expiring.
The committee had also heard it was likely alcohol was unlawfully sold at Indigo Room during a period when its annual fee had not been paid.
Usually, a licence is suspended if this payment is not made but, on this occasion, there was an “administrative error” and the licence was not suspended.
At the hearing, Dunedin City Council chief licensing inspector Tanya Morrison said, from a technical standpoint, some unlawful sales would have “no doubt occurred”.
She became aware of the outstanding fee and made contact about 11 months after the invoice was initially issued.
Indigo Room co-owner Charles Chieng told the committee the invoice and subsequent reminders about the annual fee were not seen because they went into the spam folder, and the business not been aware of the issue until contacted by Ms Morrison about its overdue payment which it took “immediate steps” to remedy, the decision said.
The reporting agencies also suggested the applicant’s failure to renew its licence was the result of it not having adequate systems in place to ensure requirements were being met, which was exacerbated by it “either ignoring or not receiving correspondence from the licensing administration team”.
Mr Chieng said the business had faced financial pressures over the past year and was not able to pay the renewal fee for the licence which lead to it expiring.
He acknowledged the initial lack of communication, which should have been managed better, and was committed to improving processes to ensure it did not happen again.
There was no evidence of any harm being attributed to the premises since it opened four years ago, and the reporting agencies were satisfied the applicant was more aware of its obligations as a liquor licence holder and had better systems in place to ensure compliance with the legislation, the decision said.
tim.scott@odt.co.nz
