John MacDonald: I'm not normally anti-bottle store, but... - Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

I’ve surprised myself with my reaction to this plan to open a bottle store right across the road from the bus interchange, in central Christchurch.

But I think it’s a terrible idea. And it’s a gut thing.

Seeing all the stuff that goes on in the central city, my gut tells me that that’s probably the last place you’d want a bottle store.

I’m surprised by the way that I feel about it because, normally, I’d probably look at this proposal and think that if people are going to buy booze, they'll buy booze.

And, normally, I’d probably say that there’s already booze available in town, so why have a problem with a bottle store?

But I’m different on this one. And I’m not alone. The police. Health bosses. They're all against it.

So is Liz Gordon, who is with the Communities Against Alcohol Harm group.

She says the bus interchange is one of the most crime-ridden areas in the country and it’s not an appropriate location for a bottle store. I don’t know about that claim about the interchange being one of the worst places in the country for crime. But I agree with her with that it’s not the area to have a bottle store.

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