City of Sydney Wants Your Feedback On Nightlife & The Special Entertainment Precincts

The City of Sydney is currently looking for feedback from Sydneysiders on the state of the city’s nightlife, and the variety of proposed changes for the city’s special entertainment precincts.

The Sydney council hope that the planned entertainment precincts will reinvigorate Sydney’s flatlining nightlife, which was drastically affected by things like the COVID pandemic and the 2014 lockout laws.

Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore AO said the proposals would make it easier and cheaper for venues to trade later into the evening, while also considering the sound management needs of both local businesses and their residential neighbours.

“We all want a nightlife we can be proud of and that our global city deserves,” said the Lord Mayor. “On the back of lockouts and lockdowns and amidst increasing cost of living pressures, we need to ensure we are doing all we can to support this integral part of Sydney’s economic, social and cultural fabric.

“In response to the challenging hospitality environment and the NSW Government’s vibrancy reforms, we have proposed important changes to the way we manage entertainment sound. We’ve also designated new special entertainment precincts that will help restore our thriving nightlife.

“We need to ensure we’re getting this right, so we will be holding community and stakeholder forums and extending the exhibition period to ensure everyone has a chance to have their say.”

Entertainment precincts: changes to sound regulations for nightlife venues

CoS is hoping for feedback on a discussion paper about the entertainment precincts, and the proposed changes they entail – such as changes to regulations of sound management for nightlife venues.

Public feedback on the Entertainment Sound Management Development Control Plan and special entertainment precincts discussion paper is open for the next six weeks.

The proposed changes put the onus for sound management on new development, give ‘sound rights’ to existing venues or residents, and make it easier to trial extended trading hours.

City of Sydney say in a media statement that the proposed changes would:

• Better protect existing venues by insisting developers carry out acoustic testing and sound proofing measures, where required, in new residential developments nearby
• Better protect residents by mandating acoustic testing and sound mitigation measures where required, in new and substantially changed venues
• Make it easier for eligible entertainment venues to trade later with longer trials of extended opening hours.

Benefits of giving areas special entertainment precinct status

The City of Sydney also wants to recognise existing well-established and well-understood late night trading areas with special entertainment precinct status.

In the statement, the council says special entertainment precinct status in late night trading areas would:

• Unlock incentives from the NSW Government for liquor licence fee discounts and additional licensing hours.
• Allow the City of Sydney to put in place bespoke sound criteria that suit the context of the area and encourage live music and entertainment.
• Make it easier for licensed and unlicensed businesses to trade later without a development application.

“This will build on the extended hours and incentives in our current late night trading areas by providing sound management certainty, extended trading for live music and performance, and an 80% discount on liquor licence fees,” said Moore.

“By designating existing late night trading areas instead of one or two streets, we have already proven these precincts can support this kind of activity. We’re hoping to apply the benefits to as many areas and businesses as possible while avoiding the safety and economic impacts of saturation.”

The public consultation period, where community feedback is welcomed, runs from 21 November 2024 to 20 January 2025.

You can learn more about how the special entertainment precincts work, and the proposed amendments to managing nightlife sound and trading hours at sydneyyoursay.com.au.