Lockout winners ask for more

Lockout winners ask for more

Two Oxford St venues that escaped the Rees Government’s 2am lock-out are planning huge expansions into adjacent properties with late-trading hours.

The Colombian Hotel and the former DCM/UN nightclub submitted plans to the City of Sydney Council after the list of 50 restricted venues, including five of Oxford St’s biggest, was announced by Premier Nathan Rees four weeks ago.

Both venues stand to benefit from increased patrons when the number of Oxford St venues open after 2am halves from 1 December.

The Colombian has applied for an increase of 60 patrons with the extra space from the adjacent premises at 125 Oxford St, bringing the total capacity to 346 patrons. It has also sought to extend its 24-hour entertainment licence to the additional space.

The new owners of the DCM/UN premises want to take over the building’s ground floor, currently occupied by Oxford Variety store. If approved, the new ground floor bar would have a capacity of 65 patrons and trade from 11am to 3am on weekdays and 5am on weekends, taking advantage of the new small bars legislation.

City of Sydney Council knocked back an increase in trading hours to the venue’s first floor nightclub last month before the lock-outs were announced.

Neither licensee of either venue returned numerous calls this week.

Residents’ group Hyde Park Community Voice is objecting to both expansions because they are taking away properties available for daytime trade and replacing them with more alcohol.
We all know the area desperately needs more daytime business, not more bars, HPCV spokeswoman Christine Byrne said.

The licensees of the four gay venues included in the lock-out announcement -” Arq, Exchange, Oxford, and Stonewall Hotels -” told Sydney Star Observer they would lose business as a result of the recent restrictions, which will drive patrons to the remaining venues.

Where else are gay people going to go after 2am? Colombian and the [Midnight] Shift. And what happens when they get added to the list too, Arq licensee Shadd Danesi said.

Surry Hills Commander Donna Adney and several senior officials from the City of Sydney will address local business owners at an event organised by the Darlinghurst Business Partnership next month.

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15 responses to “Lockout winners ask for more”

  1. And for those of us who travel to the city for our night out and cant get home at 2am. Trains dont start running till 5am, so for those of us who live a little far out to get a taxi, and come in once a month or less to really have a good time, we should wait aROUND ON THE STREET TILL the trains and buses start running. Thats when people get angry and start fights. Its usually the ones who are told to go home that end up punching on, and the pat on the shoulder from a bouncer that inspires the first hit

  2. I can’t believe DCM escaped the lockout. WTF? That end of Oxford Street is where the violence is centred. Who hasn’t walked down toward Hyde Park end of the strip and not been abused by hoons looking to pick a fight?

  3. By the way, in my previous comment, i mentioned the names some venues. I want it recognised, for the record, i, IN NO WAY, am implying that these venues are a cause for the violence around that area of the street, i was simply using their names for reference to that area of george street.

  4. Oliver, clearly your point of view is well presented – if not completely archaic and detached – you say “…Sure, we all have had a drink, but…” — have you? or is that comment just an untruth in an effort to maintain some substance within your argument? AND THIS:

    “If your an Adult over the age of 18 and feel that you get tipsy from just one sip of wine then stay at home please.”

    You are joking aren’t you. It’s people like you who feel they have a right to dictate to ADULTS the civil and social rights – ITS SIMPLE, if you over the age of 18 you may drink what ever you like – JUST DONT HARM ANYONE ELSE YOU MORONS. This issue is about ALCOHOL INFUSED VIOLENCE, not about people “who feel tipsy after one sip of wine”.

    In regards to your relatiing of the use of PS2’s, Warcraft and ….ONLINE PORN( WTF?) being assocaited to the increase in alcohol infused violence – WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH! HOWEVER, you are, i believe on the right track but the reasons behind this atrocious behaviour is well beyond alcohol adn certainly well beyond playing a few rounds of tekken on the weekend with your mates – i believe, wholesomely, that this kind of barbarism – which is what it is – relates to our current and very precious AUSSIE IDENTITY. Aussie Males(and some females) are brought up to be tough, not to cry, not to talk crap, not to dog on your mates, not to take crap and more stipulations than i care to mention. All of these things you will find in black and white on the Rugby field, on the AFL field on the Cricket Field and in several other facets of Australia’s highly treasured sporting culture. I find it coincendental that on these same sporting fields you find the same kind of barbaric, mindless violence that you’ll find up on taylor’s square on a saturday night. Hell, go down to the corner of Liverpool and George(Three Wise Monkeys, Shark Hotel, Cheers) and you’ll see more. Nothing is going to change until our country rids its youth of this egotistical, xenophobic – “””It’s great being an Aussie( a straight, footy loving, beer drinking, flag waving Aussie) but if you are not one, or are gay – WHICH IS JUST BAD – then stay out of my way””” – anti social attitudes, then the government might as well re-institute prohibition right now.

  5. If your an Adult over the age of 18 and feel that you get tipsy from just one sip of wine then stay at home please.

  6. For those people who are still drinking past 2am one word….ALCOHOLIC

    Gay or Straight it seems there are a lot of “booze hags” out there.

  7. So, Oliver is drunks are not the problem, but PS2 game consoles are then why aren’t isn’t there this level of problem out in the suburbs??? Oh that’s right, because the drunks out there aren’t concentrated into one little strip in one suburb – they are spread out over lots of suburbs!!!

    Perhaps the solution to this problem is not to have so many pubs and clubs concentrated in one area (but then again that’s what we have been saying for too long and yet nothing is happening to close down the pubs and clubs for good).

  8. Elliott put it really well. We can, like Chris and Ronson go through life and turn a blind eye to the real issues out there but I choose not to. Sure, we all have had a drink but have a good look at whats on TV these days! Extreme violence, swearing excess, Nudity and the list just goes on. From this, theres people who think this is acceptable and act this way when they go out on the town because, Chris and Ronson, youve given them the OK to do so! Fred Niles Son? No my Gene pool is much better looking than that!

  9. Ronson , Olivr may not be Fred and Elaine Nile’s son ..but he is a self confessed Nazi sympathiser. ‘(Hitler was misunderstood)’etc etc…

  10. I Agree Oliver, people forget that its our souroundings that control us/influence us on how we behave in society, the distructive thing is that we make rules/standards for people to follow but these “standards” seem to always be broken or made fun of in our media/television shows/newspapers/celebrity lifestyles/religion/computer games etc etc

    Think about (becuase the powers to be are def not).

  11. It’s a bit cheeky, considering the timing! but it is good that they are wanting to upgrade premises that are, are in the case of one, unused, and the other, just a two dollar shop, into something more exciting..

  12. Its not the drunks that are the problem. People have drunk for years. Its these Playstations and Warcraft Games, On line Porn, The glamorising of the “F” word and the OK to beat somebody up because they do it on TV, that is where the problems lie.