3 months ago
6
Restaurants, bars and live music venues could be allowed to trade for longer in Parramatta, with the council the latest to propose the establishment of a special entertainment precinct in its CBD.
The council’s proposed zone would cover five blocks, stretching from Parramatta railway station to the Riverside Theatres, and include Church Street, Parramatta Square and the Powerhouse Museum.
The special entertainment zone would apply around Parramatta’s Church Street, where restaurants such as Frankie B’s operate.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The special entertainment precinct policy, initiated by the former Coalition government, enables councils to introduce longer trading hours for live music venues, pubs, bars and restaurants within a specific area. The scheme would also allow sound levels to be managed by council noise management plans, protecting venues from unreasonable noise complaints.
Parramatta Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter said that extending the trading hours for live music venues would help to attract more visitors to the city’s CBD.
“I think it’s very important as a growing city and as Australia’s next global city that we do have these kinds of precincts,” Zaiter said. “It also aligns with the existing late-night trading area that we have already identified recently in Parramatta.
“These rules that have been suggested will go a long way to allow further late-night trading but also provide certainty to the business owners, so they don’t get shut down with one complaint, essentially, which is what used to happen.”
Under the proposal, live music venues within the precinct typically receive a two-hour trading extension on nights when live music is offered, whereas other venues can access one additional hour of trading.
The move follows the launch of the state’s first permanent special entertainment precinct on Enmore Road. Since then, six new zones have been established in the inner west local government area, with western Sydney getting its first precincts in Canley Vale and Canley Vale Heights earlier this year. There are 18 other councils across the state that are planning to establish a night-time entertainment precinct.
Zaiter said the proposed precinct in Parramatta will be on public exhibition until December 1.
Loading
“As a global city, there is an expectation that there will be nightlife, and with that does come some sound, but this is why we are going out [for] the public exhibition, so we can get the views of our community before we finalise our position,” he said.
Before it can establish a special entertainment precinct, the council would have to first run a trial phase to test how the precinct management plan affects local businesses and the community.
The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in Parramatta. Email [email protected] with news tips.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
