Press Releases
Public consultation on review of liquor licensing launched
The Food and Health Bureau today (July 13) launched a public consultation on
the review of liquor licensing to gauge public views on the regulation of
"upstairs bars" and further streamlining of licensing procedures. The
consultation exercise will last for two months until September 14.
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said, "Hong Kong is one of the
most densely populated cities in the world. It is not uncommon to find a
mixture of uses juxtaposing one another within the same development. In
recent years, more bars are moving upstairs to operate in multi-storey
buildings which were formerly used for residential and office purposes.
These bars are generally referred to as upstairs bars and most of them are
located in the Yau Tsim Mong District, Wan Chai District, Central and
Western District.
"However, there is growing public concern about crime, nuisance and fire
hazard brought about by the proliferation of upstairs bars, particularly in
view of the concentration of bars in certain multi-storey buildings."
At present the Liquor Licensing Board, which is the statutory body
responsible for considering liquor licence applications, is imposing
additional licensing conditions such as capacity limits, restrictions on
liquor selling hours and the duty hours of the licensees so as to subject
the upstairs bars concerned to additional regulatory measures. However,
there are still calls from different sectors to tighten up the control of
upstairs bars.
The consultation document sets out more stringent licensing proposals for
public discussion. Suggestions include: setting a limit on the number of
liquor-licensed premises that may be housed in a multi-storey building;
refusing to issue new liquor licences for premises in buildings which are
concurrently used for residential purposes; refusing to issue new liquor
licences altogether in certain high risk targeted buildings; and applying a
discount factor to reduce the maximum capacity currently imposed on the
liquor licences of upstairs bars.
"Some in the community are particularly concerned about public safety and
nuisance issues arising from liquor-licensed premises, in particular with
regard to upstairs bars. However, the liquor business plays an important
role in our food, leisure, tourism and entertainment industries," the
spokesman said.
"When considering whether or not to tighten the regulation, apart from
protecting public safety and minimising nuisance, we must also have regard
to the legitimate interests of the trade, and strive to balance the
interests of the trade and the neighbouring community."
Accordingly, the consultation document also outlines ways proposed by the
trade to further streamline licensing procedures, with a view to lowering
their regulatory burden. Proposals include:
* allowing liquor licence applicants to advertise their applications through
means other than publishing an advertisement on the newspaper;
* extending the duration of liquor licences to more than one year;
* introducing an optional "reserve licensee" mechanism while maintaining the
requirement for a liquor licence to be applied for and held by a natural
person; and
* exploring the need for classifying liquor licences by types of liquor sold
so as to better manage the risks of different types of liquor-selling
premises.
The spokesman said, "We would like to nurture a business-friendly
environment for the industry to grow on the one hand, but on the other we
need to protect the community from the possible problems that may come with
upstairs bars. We hope to collect views from different sectors during the
consultation period, and to reach a consensus as to what is most appropriate
and acceptable to the community as a whole, so as to take our liquor
licensing system forward."
Copies of the consultation document can be downloaded from the website of
the Food and Health Bureau (www.fhb.gov.hk),
and will be available for collection at district offices. Views and comments
should be sent to the Food Branch of the Food and Health Bureau: by post to
20/F, Murray Building, Garden Road, Hong Kong; by email to
liquor@fhb.gov.hk; or by fax to 2136
3281, by September 14.
Ends/Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Issued at HKT 15:53
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