Kings Cross locals say no to restaurant

Locals are fed up with City of Sydney and have petitioned against a new licensed venue opening in Kings Cross.

Residents of the Normandy Building, wedged between Darlinghurst Road and Earl Place , want the new restaurant’s Development Application denied on the basis of increased noise and violence.

The application from Richard Alexander Design proposes a licensed restaurant; open seven days until midnight, at 67-73 Darlinghurst Road with the public entrance on Earl Place.

But members of the Normandy’s Executive Committee, James Voss and Jake Docker, are worried the DA won’t stop there.

“A week ago it was approved as a retail outlet,” said Mr Voss. “The ink’s not even fresh and they put a new DA in.”

Mr Docker said: “It will turn into a nightclub no doubt.”

The committee has written to Council a number of times over the years to report local businesses for ignoring council regulations. But the committee feel City of Sydney  have ignored their pleas.

“I feel like they don’t care,” Mr Docker said. “They approve all of these DAs and then don’t actually enforce them.”

Mr Voss said one of the guidelines suggested by the applicant is that when there are more than 25 customers in the restaurant after 10pm the staff will close the windows and doors.

“Who’s going to police that? I mean can you see me going down on a Thursday night in my pajamas and [saying] ‘there’s 27 people – the windows are opened and they must be closed’?”

Macleay Street resident, Pam Edwards, has also signed the petition against the restaurant.

“I feel that by opening more licensed premises they’re only going to encourage more people to come,” Ms Edwards said.

“I think if these people had this kind of noise going on outside their front door at two, three o’clock in the morning, I think they’d be very upset to put it mildly.”

Mr Voss and Mr Docker’s concerns were echoed by locals who attended the Kings Cross/Potts Point Community Meeting last week.

Residents were glad Council had made some changes to traffic on Macleay Street on Friday and Saturday nights but were still worried it’s not enough to deter the volume of drivers pouring into the the area on the weekends.

“People in general think that you live in Kings Cross and somehow you have to expect all of this disruption,” said Mr Docker. “[It’s] true to some extent. Just not in your own home.”

The Statement of Environmental Effects report, handed in with the DA, stated the owners were “prepared to surrender the consent for a restricted premises/brothel or sex on premises” if the proposal was approved in full. This consent had been awarded to a previous tenant.

It also stated: “The restaurant will help improve the vibrancy of Earl Place and provide additional casual surveillance in an area which provides a route of travel from Kings Cross Station to Darlinghurst Road.”

Residents are welcome to make submissions to Council about the proposal until September 9.