Eastern Sydney residents are angry at a City of Sydney Council decision to approve an increase in capacity for a new restaurant and bar on the old Hard Rock Café site in Crown Street.
The business now has one year’s consent to serve up to 475 patrons, 200 more than the original Hard Rock Café. It has also received permission to provide public entertainment in the form of live piano performance.
The Council has reserved the right to review the patron capacity at any time during the next year.
Doug Purdie, president of the Eastern Sydney Neighbourhood Association, said that the development was completely out of scale for the area. “It has the potential to be a big noisy annoying neighbour,” he said.
“The old Hard Rock Café was fine – the only noise you got was tourist buses … the venue is a completely different venue when it’s a duelling piano bar.”
Coral Hoggett, who lives across the road from the bar, is concerned about over-crowding leading to parking problems and noise pollution. “We have no objections to it being developed,” she said. “Our objections are [to] the numbers of people that they’re allowing there.
“These places close at midnight then they (the patrons) leave the premises, but they’re around our streets until 2, 2:30, partying on.”
City of Sydney Councillor Meredith Burgmann voted against the Council’s resolution to approve the increase. “I just thought it was too big,” she said.
In addition, the establishment will have a smoking area limited to a maximum of 22 people, so any other patrons who wish to smoke will need to go outside to the street.
Cr Burgmann said that the smoking room was probably inadequate. “You have to assume that a certain percentage of a very large crowd will want to smoke” she said. “If [the owners] are serious about policing the [smoking] terrace … then the others will end up out the front.”
Inspector Ginestra of Kings Cross Local Area Command said that the area has reached saturation point with respect to licensed venues.
The developer could not be reached for comment.
by Aaron Cook
