Walsh Bay Function Centre Approved Over Resident Objections

A proposed function centre at Walsh Bay has been approved over noise and other concerns among residents.

The $4.9 million venue with capacity for 750 will be located inside the heritage-listed building on wharves seven and eight, after the proposal was unanimously accepted by the City of Sydney’s local planning panel on Wednesday 23 September. Navarra Venues, who likewise operate Le Montage on the Lilyfield foreshore and various other sites around Sydney, will run the new establishment.

To be situated at the end of the pier, it will feature a large function space alongside another private function room, bar and kitchen areas and a harbour-facing balcony. Current office space will be gutted. Navarra says that the venue will provide a boost to the local economy and employment, and will appropriately utilise a historic building.

Other commercial and hospitality businesses operate towards the southern end of the pier. However, these are smaller, and hundreds of residents live 70 metres away on the adjacent pier six and seven.

Objections raised in meeting

Speaking at the planning panel meeting on behalf of fellow residents on the adjacent peer, Julie Wise opposed the development. She said, “we already know how easily sound carries between these two piers.”

“Today, we can hear the existing restaurant and the ordinary conversations from the relatively small number of people fishing late at night. So our concern is what happens when that becomes hundreds of people attending an event, gathering outside talking, and leaving late at night.”

“The proximity also creates privacy concerns, with the eastern gantries looking directly into apartments across several floors. With live entertainment of up to 95 decibels, every time a gantry door opens, there is also the risk of music noise escaping as well.”

“We do not believe an event centre of this scale is compatible with the established homes and cultural precinct, so we urge the panel to refuse this application,” Wise said, joining residents from Towns Place and pier eight and nine. Like the others, she urged that several measures be implemented if it were approved nonetheless. These consisted of a one-year trial period, the closure of outdoor areas by 9pm, the closure of the venue by 10pm, no overnight road vehicle deliveries, and no “unlimited” serving of drinks.

Panel sets conditions

Conditions ultimately imposed by the panel include the installation of acoustic airlocks on doors to mitigate noise, a guarantee that there will be sufficient security guards on shift in proportion to patron numbers, that there be no deliveries or waste collection between 10pm and 7am or 8am on weekends, and that acoustic monitoring will take place within six and 12 months of opening, to be conducted unbeknownst to the operator.

“The plan of management does also need to be updated in terms of the methodology for the staggering of patrons to ensure that there’s not a mass exit on closure,” said panel chair Jan Murrell.

Responding to calls about the serving of alcohol, Murrell noted that such matters pertaining to the Liquor Act are beyond the panel’s authority.