Court makes its mark on our venues

The Land and Environment Court will have its 28th anniversary next week, but only in the last few years has its influence over the gay and lesbian community been noticed. Just who is the LEC and whose interests is it looking out for?

Under the NSW courts system the LEC is equivalent in rank and status to the Supreme Court, and can overrule decisions by councils or other courts based on technicalities of law or on merit, standing on the shoes of council as a 2001 review call it.

The Sydney City Council was particularly averse to the court’s interference, publishing Unwanted Legacies of the Land and Environment Court of NSW detailing 35 cases where it approved developments that had massive adverse consequences for the local community and accusing it of being too developer-friendly.

One controversial aspect of the court is that appeals based on merit, rather than matters of law, can be heard by non-judicial commissioners, often with backgrounds as developers or planning officers in the same councils they are now asked to overrule.

But the recent decision by a commissioner to consider the City of Sydney’s draft Late Night Trading Premises Development Control Plan in its decision on the DCM nightclub case has won it praise from the same council who was previously its harshest critic.

The court judgment is vindication of the City’s commitment to balancing the needs of residents and the night-time economy of our city, acting City of Sydney CEO Garry Harding said last week.
So far this year the court has ruled 10 out of 21 cases in favour of the City and against developers and venue owners.

LOST -“ Imperial Hotel

The iconic venue of the inner west is somewhat of a sacred cow to the gay community.

The tradition, for as long as most people could remember, was the crowds would drink beer and watch some drag shows at the Newtown Hotel, then when it closed at midnight move on to the Imperial for cocktails and more drag.

So when, in 2003, the City of Sydney mysteriously lost the paperwork authorising the hotel’s 24-hour trading Lord Mayor Clover Moore had a real gay problem on her hands.

The City, flooded with objections from local residents citing noise, decided against re-authorising the hours, but was overturned by the court after a lengthy and bitter dispute that did the council no favours.

WON -“ Taylor Square Hotel

So beloved was Manacle in the basement of the Taylor Square Hotel that the gay community tried to ignore the overflow of drunken patrons from upstairs T2 bar who plagued Gilligan’s Island every weekend.

One time-lapse YouTube clip showed three separate assaults between T2 patrons outside the venue on a single Sunday morning last year, with police vans intermittently turning up after all the brawlers had gone.

But when Manacle’s licensees were turfed by the hotel’s owners the gay community lost its patience. Eventually the Surry Hills licensing police took over the situation and shut the venue down for breaching its conditions.

The court ruled against the venue when the City refused to renew its entertainment licence. The venue can now only operate as a hotel, not a nightclub.

LOST -“ Burdekin Hotel

It wasn’t the gay community complaining about the five-level venue on the corner of Oxford and Liverpool Streets, but a group of nearby residents calling themselves the Hyde Park Community Voice. Their complaint was noise and drunken crowds in the early hours of the morning.

Unlike DCM and the Taylor Square Hotel, police did not raise any complaints about bad management so the City’s refusal to grant expanded late trading and entertainment licenses for all five floors was overturned by the court.

In unfortunate timing, the day after the court made the ruling a brawl erupted outside the venue in which three people were arrested.

WON -“ DCM

No venue on Oxford St had more complaints against it than DCM/UN Sydney. When the venue’s 24-hour trading licence trial period ended in 2006 it applied to the City for an extension but was refused.

During the two-year appeal proceedings the venue attracted attention for all the wrong reasons, including a shooting rumoured to be gang-related, underage patrons, excessive crowding, irresponsible serving of alcohol, and disregard for basic safety conditions.

Commissioner Jan Murrell ruled the venue had not displayed good management, placed the public at serious risk, and ordered it to revert to standard hotel trading hours and close at midnight. The decision was applauded in the gay community.

ONGOING -“ Beresford Hotel

The historic venue on Bourke St has been in development for many months now, and could open as soon as next month.

Owner Gerry Ness has applied for a live music licence, so it could be a real jewel for the local community. The only hitch has been the current licence for the venue, which doesn’t cover the full area of the artfully renovated ground floor, let alone the grand ballroom upstairs.

Council initially refused the application because they didn’t feel it met the criteria of the new draft Late Night Trading Premises Development Control Plan.

The court is yet to rule on the matter.