Nigel Broad, owner of award-winning harbourside restaurant Plato, told a reconvened District Licensing Committee hearing yesterday his chances of having building compliance and plumbing work completed by Christmas were ''limited''.
He provided the committee with a new draft fire report and said he had obtained a price from a plumber for work to install two additional toilets. He had also engaged a building firm. But he had not been able to get a price for the building work, as no commercial draftsman was available at present in Dunedin to draw up plans for the necessary alterations.
He had ''rung everyone in town'' and, given it was now late August, and ''everybody's busy'', he was not hopeful, Mr Broad said.
''There's so much going on in Dunedin, everyone's in the same boat,'' he said.
Plato's application to renew its on-licence was filed in October 2015. The restaurant has been operating in the interim on its existing licence.
The initial hearing of the application in June followed more than 18 months of communications between various compliance agencies and with Mr Broad. That hearing was adjourned without a decision by the committee.
But it issued a direction minute requiring an application for a temporary change of use and for no more bookings for events with numbers higher than permitted by an official fire report.
Explaining what he had achieved since June, Mr Broad told yesterday's hearing he needed a plan before he could get a price from his builders and there was a delay of ''a couple of months'' before he would be able to get a commercial draftsman.
Mr Weatherall's response was that the situation had been going on for a long time.
''You know what's required,'' he said.
And he warned Mr Broad the committee had been tolerant ''until now'' but its tolerance ''might not continue''.
Committee member Andrew Noone suggested the fact Mr Broad needed the business to continue to operate should be an incentive for him to get the necessary work done.
''Wouldn't you want to exhaust every possible avenue to ensure your business can keep running?'' he asked.
Mr Broad assured Mr Noone he had been ''on the builders' case'' for the past two months, to the point where he was embarrassed phoning them. It was ''almost harassment'', he said.
Building compliance officer Cory Barnes said occupancy for the whole building was limited to 130 because of the need for more sanitary spaces (toilets). And 50 was the the Billiards' Room limit because of a problem with fire doors.
Mr Broad said he was looking at installing extra doors elsewhere in the Billiards' Room wall.
''As soon as I have all the ducks in a row, I'll be pushing to have the work done.''
The hearing was adjourned for Mr Barnes to consider the latest fire report and for any response from Mr Broad.
Whether or not a renewal licence was issued depended on what advice the committee received from Mr Barnes, Mr Weatherall said.
