Beach vendor seeks first-ever liquor licence

While the issuance of vendor licences on Seven Mile Beach is still being sorted out, one business is attempting to get ahead of a possible rush on applications to legally sell alcohol at the beach by applying directly to the Liquor Licensing Board.

Board members at a meeting last week admitted this was the first time such an application had been brought before them, and said they would need some time to figure out exactly what kind of licence was required and what other elements needed to be in place for an application to be successful.

Leon and Arleth Gould, who own ice-shaving business Sno Patrol, have applied to the board for a mobile retail liquor licence for a food truck at the car park beside Seven Mile Public Beach, from which they plan to serve pizzas, as well as beer and rum punch in biodegradable containers, when cruise ships are in port.

Asked if the company already had permission to operate on the beach from the Public Lands Commission, Arleth Gould – who is a member of the Liquor Licensing Board and so recused herself from decision-making on her own application – said it had submitted an application for a beach vendor’s licence to the commission, and is awaiting a response.

“What they have told us is that we would need to obtain the liquor licence prior to obtaining their approval,” she said.

The Goulds said they understood that the commission has not yet granted any vendor licences at this point.

The board acknowledged that there appeared to be illegal sales of alcohol occurring at the beach.

During a raid on the beach in March this year to crack down on vendors, among the items confiscated was alcohol that was being sold illegally.

Arleth Gould said her company had researched the law in regard to selling alcohol on the beach, which is Crown land, and determined that there is nothing in the legislation specifically preventing alcohol being sold there.

“The only thing that we would need to obtain, from a regulation standpoint, is the liquor licence, which we are applying for now. So, our approval for the sale of alcohol is subject to the approval we are applying for from the Liquor Licensing Board today,” she said.

The ‘Seven Mile Public Beach Park Vendor’ policy approved by Cabinet in May states that the sale of alcohol at the beach, which is public land, is “prohibited except in accordance with the terms and conditions of a vendor’s permit”.

It continues, “The [Public Lands] Commission may issue occasional permits at this site allowing vendors to sell alcohol at their discretion. This prohibition extends to chargeable events where alcohol is provided or allowed to be brought because of a cover fee.”

Still waiting for vending licences

After years of uncertainty about the future of the beach vendors, in April this year, Cabinet finally approved a policy to regulate the beach businesses, which paved the way for vendors to apply for a licence, at the cost of $100.

If the Public Lands Commission approves a vendor, those permits would then cost $75 a year, and the vendors would operate out of kiosks or collapsible tents.

Vendors are currently operating on an informal basis on Seven Mile Beach, as licences from the Public Lands Commission have not yet been granted.

Leon Gould told members of the Liquor Licensing Board at its annual meeting on 1 Sept., “There is quite a lot of illegal alcohol being sold on Public Beach currently. We would like to counter that by going through the right channels, because, as I’m sure you are aware,  there have been many complaints of people selling alcohol down there. If someone is not allowed to do it legally, people will do it illegally.”

An area beside the beach has been designated for food trucks, which the Goulds said would be where they would be operating, if they are granted the requisite licences.

Noel Williams, chairman of the Liquor Licensing Board, described the Goulds’ submission as a “very important application”, and one which the board would take under serious consideration.

“Even though, at the public beach, there is some illegal transactions happening down there, we still want to do the right thing,” Williams said. “Whenever we approve anything, we have to make sure that when someone else comes along, we can do it for them too. … We have to do our investigations and get it right.”

The Goulds told the board they were willing to take into account any suggestions the members may have in relation to the liquor licence.

Leon Gould told the members, “There are plenty of people doing it the wrong way right now, and we’d like to be the first to actually tap into doing it the right way.”

He said Sno Patrol had verbal permission from the Public Lands Commission to continue operating as it has already applied for a vending licence, but he has decided not to run that business until a licence is granted.

He said most of the vendors at the beach were currently operating on the basis of that verbal permission.