Before you step out to socialise this New Year period, be sure to familiarise yourself with the alcohol-free areas that are in place across the city.

Tauranga City Council are working with the New Zealand Police to reduce alcohol harm in the community and ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Regulatory and compliance general manager Sarah Omundsen says that it’s important for locals and visitors alike to know where the alcohol-free areas are before heading out the door.

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves this holiday season. There are permanent alcohol-free areas in Tauranga all year round, as well as temporary or extended alcohol-free areas in the Mount and Pāpāmoa to support a safer new year period,” Sarah says.

Western Bay of Plenty Summer Policing Operations Group operations manager Senior Sergeant Nick Lewer agrees with Sarah’s message.

“We’ll be out and about in the lead up to this New Year and New Year’s Eve itself, enforcing the alcohol-free areas and ensuring our community is looked after.”

Nick is reminding people that consuming alcohol, bringing alcohol into, or possessing alcohol in an alcohol-free area is an offence. This includes in a vehicle in a public place specified in the bylaw.

“It’s just not worth the risk. If you are caught drinking alcohol in an alcohol-free area, we will take it off you and we can issue fines on the spot.

“This year we are working with Council to fence off Hopukiore (Mount Drury) Reserve from December 30, and the main Mount Maunganui playground from December 31. They will both be open for use again on New Year’s Day,” says NIck.

There is no public fireworks display at Mount Main Beach on New Year’s Eve.

Maps of permanent and temporary alcohol areas in the city can be found on the Tauranga City Council website.

Additional information:

• Free fireworks displays will be taking place at several Council run community celebrations on New Year’s Eve. The first display will be at the family-friendly time of 9.30pm at community events at the City Centre Waterfront, Blake Park, Gordon Spratt Reserve, and at Fergusson Park. Midnight fireworks will then be launched from several locations across the city. Fireworks can be scary for animals, so keep your pets safe inside this New Year’s Eve. Keeping your blinds closed and the TV or radio on can help reduce the noise.
• It’s also worth noting there are changes to TCC’s kerbside collection days this festive season. Your kerbside bins will be collected one day later than usual for two weeks, from Monday, 25 December through to Friday, 5 January. This is to give our kerbside collections team a well-deserved break on Christmas and New Year’s Day. Click here for more information on what to do with any extra glass, recycling or rubbish that won’t fit in your bins.