More than 10,000 people have given their opinion on the future of Sydney’s nightlife.
Sydneysiders want to see more shops, restaurants, cafes, small bars and live music venues staying open after dark, both in established late-night precincts and in their own neighbourhoods.
They also want more small-scale cultural events and activities to take place across the city, such as small theatre performances in bookshops, and for noise from entertainment venues to be managed more fairly for residents and venues alike.
The feedback has come as part of the City of Sydney’s first review in more than a decade of the planning controls that determine the locations and trading hours of night-time premises.
Community members also gave feedback on new proposals for an ‘agent of change’ approach, requiring new residential developments to better manage external noise and to make it easier for small businesses to open later or put on small-scale cultural events.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said it was no surprise that Sydneysiders and visitors are hungry for more to do after dark.
“Over the last decade, we’ve undertaken extensive community consultation and spoken to thousands of people across our community about the kind of creative and cultural life they want for Sydney and what they want to see and do in their city at night”, the Lord Mayor said.
“This most recent feedback tells us once again that our residents and visitors want a diverse and exciting night-time economy with events and activities for people of all ages and interests. What they absolutely do not want is a city that is unsafe or that shuts down as soon as the sun goes down.
“We are not alone in the issues that we are facing in Sydney – and thankfully we are part of a network of global cities who are finding the best, evidence-based solutions to the issues that most global cities face.
“Sydney’s nightlife is a complex ecosystem which has undoubtedly been impacted by the NSW Government’s ill-considered lockout laws and other factors.
“So we are committed to developing carefully considered policies that allow well-managed venues to continue to trade, while also managing the impacts of venues on local neighbourhoods.
“The night-time economy is critical to Sydney’s future, so it’s essential we get the balance right and make sure our planning controls keep pace with the city as it changes and grows.
“In the coming months, we’ll recommend changes to the planning controls that respond to this feedback and better reflect our long-term vision for the night-time economy.” Major themes that emerged from public consultation on the City’s late-night trading development control plan (DCP) earlier this year include:
- Strong support for trading hours for late-night premises across the city to increase, particularly in Green Square, Broadway and parts of Surry Hills.
- Support for maintaining or increasing the size of late-night trading areas across the city, while ensuring already popular precincts like Newtown remain safe and sustainable.
- Strong support for more diverse late-night businesses including shops, restaurants, cafes, small bars, live music and performance spaces and cultural venues across the city.
- Strong support for increased late-night activity in fast-growing parts of the city like Green Square.
Consultation on proposals released by the City late last year as part of its Open and Creative City discussion paper also showed:
- Strong support for cultural activities with minimal impacts, such as a shop hosting a performance or public talk, to take place without development consent. People said the rules around these activities need to be as flexible as possible, while taking into account potential noise impacts on local residents.
- Strong support for shops and local businesses in established retail areas like Oxford Street and mixed use areas like Surry Hills to be able to trade from 7am to 10pm, seven days per week, without requiring additional development consent.
- Strong support for a new approach to managing entertainment noise, based on the ‘agent of change’ principle, where new residential developments near existing entertainment venues would need to be designed and built to manage the noise of the existing venue. People said this approach would better balance the rights and responsibilities of both venues and residents.
The City will now seek expert input from its new nightlife and creative sector advisory panel before recommending changes to the planning controls later this year. The community will have another chance to provide feedback on the proposed changes before they are finalised.
For more information on Sydney’s night-time economy, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/vision/towards-2030/business-and-economy/sydney-at-night/night-time-economy
For media inquiries or images, contact Alex Cauchi. Phone mobile 0467 803 815 or email acauchi@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, please contact Julia Lenton. Phone 0410 748 039 or email jlenton@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au