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Media Release
12 June 2009
Win for residents ‘saturated’ by late-night entertainment venues
In a decision which may set a precedent for entertainment venues in the inner city, VCAT has upheld Yarra Council’s decision to reject a bid by a Richmond hotel to extend its hours and increase its maximum patron numbers.
The operators of the Corner Hotel in Swan Street appealed to VCAT against Council’s refusal to amend the hotel’s permit to extend the opening hours of its beer garden from 11.30pm to 3am, 7 days a week, and to increase its maximum number of patrons from 750 to 1300.
Mayor Cr Amanda Stone said Council had refused the permit because of the impact it would have on residential amenity in the surrounding area, citing the cumulative impact when nine venues in the immediate area already trade past midnight.
“Council presented a strong case, drawing on the testimony of six local residents, a licensing inspector with the Victoria Police Inspector Dean McWhirter, and several expert witnesses,” Cr Stone said.
“Our position was that the number of late-night entertainment venues in the Swan Street precinct has reached a saturation point,” she said.
“We are pleased for our local community that VCAT has agreed that the Corner Hotel’s request would make an already poor situation worse.”
In their decision, VCAT Deputy President Mark Dwyer and Member Elizabeth Bensz said:
“…We consider the clustering and dominance of late-night bar/hotel venues is the primary cause of existing amenity impacts in the immediate area around the Swan Street precinct, and the primary barrier to the Council achieving its aspirations (in planning terms) for a more diversified activity centre and mixed-use precinct.
“…Adding another 550 patrons to one of these venues until 3am will in our view ‘tip the balance’ even more unfavourably to the point of being unacceptable.”
In reaching its decision to refuse the Corner Hotel’s request, Council referred to a Victorian Planning Provision introduced in 2008 which requires planners, when considering proposals for new or expanded licensed premises, to assess the impact of the hours of operations and the cumulative impact of both existing and proposed licensed premises on the amenity of the surrounding area.
In its decision, VCAT detailed more than 20 questions which it said should be considered by planners when assessing cumulative impact, grouping the questions into three matters: the density of licensed premises in an area, the mix and type of licensed premises and existing amenity levels.
“For many applications an initial review of these three considerations will lead to a straightforward outcome that cumulative impact is not of significant concern for that application,” the VCAT decision said.
“There will however be other cases where the location of the licensed premises, by reference to these three considerations, clearly triggers the need for a more detailed assessment.
“The density, mix and type of licensed premises in the Swan Street precinct combined with poor existing amenity levels in the immediately surrounding area means this is a case deserving of a detailed assessment of cumulative impact.”
Cr Stone said Council understood the Corner Hotel was well-managed, but its application needed to be considered as part of a wider analysis of the area’s activities.
“We know that many residents in the inner city enjoy living near a hive of activity including late-night entertainment venues,” Cr Stone said.
“There just needs to be a balance so it doesn’t tip over into having a negative impact on our residents’ quality of life.”
Cr Stone thanked local residents and the Victoria Police for their important contributions into what had been a long and complex case.
To read the VCAT decision, go here VCAT decisions
Further information
For media enquiries about this issue, please contact:
Ainslie Gowan
Coordinator Communications and Public Relations
Richmond Town Hall
333 Bridge Road Richmond
Telephone 9205 5177, 0400 933 700
Email ainslie.gowan@yarracity.vic.gov.au
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