Music Venues versus Residents

To my understanding some capital cities have properly zoned areas for nightclubs, live music venues and so on. Does anyone have any information as to which locations are subject to such policies, what the proper name of the legislation is and what the actual rules are? I am aware of Fortitude Valley in Brisbane and I seem to recall that Adelaide has something similar (?) but what about other cities?

My reason for asking is that as anyone in Hobart will be very well aware, this city currently has a major dispute involving late night entertainment venues versus local residents. Crunch time has come with the largest nightclub in Hobart (Club Surreal, a local icon for younger people which once won a national award for best entertainment venue) now permanently closed and an "animal cage" errected around another popular hotel to limit traditional pre-Christmas and Christmas Eve celebrations.

With practically every pub, live music venue and nightclub now receiving very similar complaints to those which lead to the closure of Surreal and the fact that the complaint related to "7 day a week noise" (Surreal opened after midnight only on Saturday night and was completely shut 4 days a week) it's clear that Hobart is heading towards a near-total lack of nightlife apart from pubs full of pokies in the suburbs and the casino (which has no nightclubs) itself. Not exactly the way to keep young people in the state.

So, what do other cities do to maintain a viable entertainment / hotels industry? The actual complaints in Hobart all relate to patrons leaving the venue rather than noise from activities inside with even the most vocal critics acknowledging that Surreal was absolutely soundproof.

So, what happens elsewhere?

Hi Smurf,

I have noticed in NSW that in a few cities, the venues will not let anyone in after 1.00 am, even though they may trade to 3.00 am or even right through.

The theory is that once inside the punters will stay inside and not roam around from venue to venue as they are unable to get back into anywhere.

It has dramatically cut down the yobbos roaming the streets in the early hours of the morning.

Seems to have worked

The south yarra and prahran distrcits in Melbourne have clubs which are open 24/7 some days of the week. They have had their problems, the most notable occuring in the Salt nightclub which was subsequently closed. The biggest problem in the area to my knowledge was that the traffic on Chapel St slows to a quite literal crawl on Saturday nights as it becomes the place to be for anybody who wants to show off their newly lowered and hotted up *insert flashy looking car with neon lights here* car. Police seem to have addressed the problem fairly well by increasing their presence and randomly diverting traffic off the main road and around back streets issuing defective notices to drivers of any car which is too low, loud, etc.

Other areas suffering similar issues with late or all night licences over the past few years have been St. Kilda and Brunswick.

It seems the previously trendy cafe, restuarant, and latte strips have also become the place to be for late night/day clubs. As far as I'm aware, the clubs have won on almost all occassions. I don't live in any of the areas so can't comment on what residents think, but property prices haven't suffered in those areas and rentals appear to be in high demand. That makes me think it's still a place people want to live.

I guess it comes down to the type of crowd attracted to the areas are and how effective the police presence is. I have no problem feeling safe walking alone in any of the areas mentioned any time of the night. On the other hand, I'd walk through Frankston with great trepidation after midnight given the number of booze fuelled brawls I've seen among large numbers of people down there.

In WA, iconic pubs such as Steve's (Home of Bob Hawke and just about every UWA student), The Raffles Hotel, Cottosloe Hotel and the Dunsborough Hotel have all suffered restrictions as a result of relatively newer residents making complaints.

It's really a shame to see these venues suffer at the hands of residents that move into newly developed land in the surrounding area. Something needs to be done - I see it as a zoning issue. Just as you wouldn't zone residential ajoining a heavy industrial area, you shouldn't zone residential near pre-existing pubs and clubs.