6am licence too much for residents

Darlinghurst residents are worried about an Oxford Street music venue’s plans to open until 6am on a permanent basis.

The Oxford Art Factory has been opening until 6am as part of a yearly trial which has been renewed each year since 2007, but its owners have applied to the City of Sydney Council to go full time.

Resident Stephen Pate says the later opening hours have already added to anti-social behaviour in the area.

“I used to love Oxford Street but clubs such as the Oxford Art Factory have led to more people vomiting on the street and urinating everywhere,” he says.

But venue owner Mark Gerber says: “I don’t see the need for resident concern as we have always worked with the Council and police so it’s not possible to do anything outside their guidelines.

“This is a basement venue and the outside noise of traffic on Oxford Street is noisier than any noise coming from our doors.”

The President of the Darlinghurst Residents Action Group, Jo Holder, says this is not good enough and believes the venue should close no later than 3am.

“The area can’t handle the number of drinkers which have recently increased by 400 per cent on Oxford Street,” she says.

“A place like the Oxford Art Factory is a part of the problem and it should never have been given those hours even on a trial basis.”

The venue is used for live concerts and is also an art gallery and nightclub.

Mr Gerber says the annual license renewals are very costly, which is one of the main reasons he wants to end the trial and keep it open until 6 am permanently.

Greens Councillor Chris Harris says: “People living in the city can’t expect it to be like St Ives as that is unrealistic but the club needs to make sure it’s sound proofed properly and that when people leave there’s some security so there are no screaming fights outside all the time.”

The President of the East Sydney Neighbourhood Association, Doug Purdie, says the problem is not simply noise but the behaviour of people after they leave Oxford Street’s clubs and bars.

“What tends to happen is people go home in the very early hours of the morning kicking rubbish bins over and doing all the other things people associate with drunk people so it really has an impact on residents,” he says.

But Mr Gerber says he is doing all he can to ensure customers behave.

“There have never been any complaints from the Council or the Police because I go out of my way to comply with any requirements put forward by either of them,” he says.

A spokesperson for City of Sydney Council says residents were given until May 12 to submit their views on the permanent opening hours.

By William Brougham