LETTERS: Locals told to dry up | Auckland Opinion | Local Voices from Auckland, New Zealand

Please please not another one. What is the council thinking? I completely agree with the other Kingsland residents quoted.
I have lived in Kingsland for 22 years and having always enjoyed a walk to the shops and a coffee or a meal at a local restaurant, now I very rarely go there at all to dine, preferring to drive to other locations. I believe, from speaking with neighbours, that this is becoming the norm.
There was a large turnout opposing the granting of a liquor license to The Kingslander some years ago, we were ignored and since then it has been the thin edge, with more and more bars and liquor outlets crowding into a very small area.
There are drunks spilling out over the pavement most evenings and, as Ms Cole mentions, the state of the streets in the mornings is awful.
I am sure that the majority of home owners in the area would oppose this had we known.
Stephanie Hill
Kingsland

What most disappoints me is that the applicant has been given the right to use the car park on 24 First Ave not only for staff parking (minor) but also loading activities and this includes Saturdays. In the past few months trucks have become stuck trying to reverse manoeuvre into this carpark. If this is not adversly affecting the neighbourhood amenity, then what is?
Disgruntled

I have total empathy with Kingland's residents and the liquor situation there and in Auckland City. Of course the real culprit is the Auckland City Council and the attitude expressed by Sarah Noble: "there is no official plan to deal with the expected influx of drinkers for the Rugby World Cup, but they will put up signs in bars advising people to have respect for the area.
"We do work with bars but don't deal with patrons when they're walking down the street and shouting." She says that is a matter for the police. God help the police.
The Auckland City policy is the major cause of drunkeness in and around the city. We now have discount liquor stores on vitually every corner. All she can say is "they will put up signs". Well for your information Ms Noble, there are signs all over the city and they do absolutely nothing to stop the out of control situation in Auckland City. I don't know where you live but it is obvious to all of us who live here that your out-of-control, drunken citizens have absolutely no respect for anyone or the general environment.
As for Auckland becoming a world class city, sorry Auckland City Council your city is well on the way to becoming a world class hell hole.
Word is getting around the world very fast these days with the internet and Auckland is becoming one place tourists are being told to avoid.
A friend of mine who moved here from Mumbai for a year described Auckland City as a zoo; I thought that was being a little unkind to the animals.
Godfrey Woods
Auckland CBD