Carlton Football Club has been refused a permit to extend the opening hours of its Club Laverton hotel to 3am.
Hobsons Bay’s deputy mayor Colleen Gates said extended opening hours would be inconsistent with the council’s planning policies, whose aims include the prevention of alcohol and gambling-related issues.
She said people could travel a short distance to Wyndham hotels, which had longer opening hours.
“The Laverton club is situated between three very similar late-night venues: Westside Taverner in Laverton North, the Phoenix Hotel in Point Cook, and Sanctuary Lakes Hotel in Point Cook,” Cr Gates said. “If these venues operated according to current permits, residents could potentially have 24-hour access to alcohol and gambling.
“For example, if Club Laverton and only Westside Taverner opened according to their current permit hours, Club Laverton has a permit to open at 7am with a variable closing times, the latest being 1am on Thursday-Saturday, and Westside Taverner is open from 11am-7am every day.
“In addition, the Phoenix Hotel is already operating between 7am and 1am every day and Sanctuary Lakes Hotel from 7am-1am Thursday to Saturday and 10am-12am Sunday to Wednesday.”
Gamblers in Hobsons Bay lost $47.2 million last calendar year, compared with $51 million in 2012.
Millers Inn Hotel in Altona North, open until 5am, recorded the highest expenditure in Hobsons Bay last year, raking in $13.9 million. Seagulls Nest at Newport, open until 3am, recorded the next highest at $7 million. Club Laverton was third on the list with $5.7 million.
Cr Gates said venues with later opening hours had been allowed to keep them under old planning regulations, which had now changed.
“There are variations in terms of what each permit allows in line with the relevant regulations and changing community attitudes towards alcohol and gaming,” she said.
“Victorian government introduced planning controls in 2011 which enabled consideration of cumulative impacts of licensed premises.”
Spokesman for the licensee, Martin Shannon, said the Carlton Football Club was disappointed but respected the council’s decision.
