NSW To Receive Four New Special Entertainment Precincts

Sydney is set to be home to another four Special Entertainment Precincts, with the Inner West Council proposing new streets to join the successful Enmore Road zone.

A new press release from the New South Wales Inner West Council states that the council is exploring options to introduce new Special Entertainment Precincts for Darling Street Balmain/Rozelle, Marrickville Road Marrickville, Marrickville Road Dulwich Hill and Norton Street Leichhardt.

The proposed Special Entertainment Precincts will circle venues, including the 24-hour licenced Bridge Hotel, the Balmain Leagues Club, the Factory Theatre, and more.

The Inner West Council is hosting consultations with local venues, businesses, artists and members of the community to have their say about new Special Entertainment Precincts, which bring an extra hour of trading for venues that host live music, small-scale artistic and cultural events on main streets (without the need for a development application), outdoor dining until 11 pm, and just one government agency policing Inner West complaints in the precinct.

Spaces in the Special Entertainment Precincts also receive greater protection from unreasonable noise complaints, with the council providing a noise management plan for venues.

According to a new report published by the Sydney Morning Herald, the Enmore Road Special Entertainment Precinct has been credited with helping the area bounce back to life in a live music landscape post-COVID restrictions, with new bars and restaurants opening around the Enmore Theatre.

In a press release, Mayor Darcy Byrne said that the Inner West Council recognises the area as “the beating heart of Sydney’s live music scene” with a want to spread the success of Enmore Road throughout other areas of Sydney.

“Later trading as a reward for hosting gigs is a real incentive for bars, restaurants and pubs and adds to the vibrancy of the local community,” Byrne said.

Byrne added that by allowing main street stores to host live music and other performances without a development application, the council is achieving an “important element” of the Special Entertainment Precincts that it wants to continue to promote.

“Legalising performances in bookshops, cafes, and restaurants could increase the availability of affordable spaces for young and emerging artists to perform and develop their craft as well as attracting customers to those businesses,” Byrne continued. “It’s a win for artists, local businesses and the community.”