Beloved Fitzroy music venue wins noise fight but issues warning over legal loophole

3 months ago 20

A popular Fitzroy music nightspot has fought back against a bid to close its doors, and its owner has criticised the efficiency of laws designed to protect entertainment venues.

Developer C&R Building Pty Ltd sought an enforcement order this year against the Night Cat, claiming that it was exceeding its permitted noise emission levels. The venue was then forced by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to make major soundproofing upgrades or face closure.

Justin Stanford said the decision was a win for live music venues.

This decision was cancelled at a VCAT compulsory conference last week after it was found the venue was operating within its approved permit conditions.

Night Cat owner Justin Stanford said: “I’ve been living in relief this week … Being able to prove that we’re rock solid, and we can’t get closed down for those reasons is a great help for the venue going into the future.

“It’s great for promoters, for agents, for artist managers. They can look at … a venue that’s not under threat, as we were three months ago.”

The original VCAT decision was unusual because it related to a building that didn’t yet exist – a proposed residential and office complex at 159-167 Johnston Street.

Stanford previously said his venue had received no noise infringement notices in its 31 years of operation.

While the reversal has secured the future of the Night Cat, he expressed concern about the Victorian laws in place to protect live music venues.

The “agent of change” principle was introduced into planning law by the state government in 2014. It puts the onus on a developer to include appropriate noise reduction measures when a building is proposed within 50 metres of a music venue.

Stanford said lawyers had begun to employ a loophole in the principle that involves challenging a venue’s compliance with its planning permit – shifting the responsibility back to the music venue.

“The [rules are] not protecting us in the way that they used to,” he said. “If the laws were effective in protecting venues, we wouldn’t have had to do this. The developer would have had to pay for the soundproofing.

“We need our state politicians to tighten up those laws … Hopefully, we can move swiftly to close the loopholes and protect what is left to the venues in the city.”

Yarra City Council Mayor Stephen Jolly welcomed the VCAT decision, calling it a win for Melbourne’s live music scene.

“It’s amazing. It’s really good news,” he said. “It shouldn’t have come to this, and I hope this sends a clearer message about people that are planning on building a high-rise building not to complain about noise.”

The mayor said the rules protecting live music venues were not up to standard. He said he intended to introduce a live music precinct to the area, which would fall under the council planning scheme.

“That will give long-term security to the industry, and to all of the people that work in the industry,” Jolly said.

A crowdfunding drive set up by Stanford in April raised more than $73,000 for the Night Cat, the proceeds going towards measures such as improved soundproofing and better sound monitoring equipment.

The fundraiser also allowed the Night Cat to commission an independent report on its noise levels, which found the venue was compliant with its permit. This research would be provided to Yarra City Council, Stanford said.

“It’s a win for the venue,” he said. “We now have an acoustic report that proves that we are 100 per cent compliant with our planning permit. And that helps us in any further cases.

“There were donations also from people that … used to come to the venue 30 years ago and wanted to make sure that it would still be there for the next generation.

“There’s a broad range of support … I was very deeply moved to receive that level of support.”