Wollongong's music and small venues operators have urged residents to speak up about their views on the number of liquor licences in the city centre, saying ‘‘indie shops and small bars’’ are the driving force behind recent changes in the CBD.
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Licences have been a hot topic in the city in recent months, after two new venues struggled to gain permission to sell alcohol.
The state government has told both the Market Street bar Sifters and Keira Street rooftop bar Humber that there are too many bars in the CBD, linking this to alcohol-related violence in the area.
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) will hold a forum next month to gauge the public’s view on city centre liquor licences, before deciding if it will grant Humber’s licence.
Music promoter Ben Tillman joined the cause this week, posting a call to action on his Yours and Owls Facebook page after Wollongong MP Noreen Hay sent a letter to city centre residents saying she had heard there was concern about the number of liquor licences.
‘‘There are a few negative people looking to avoid change and positive growth by restricting our small bars, and limiting new ones from opening,’’ Mr Tillman said.
‘‘But it just seems obvious the small bars and smaller licensed venues are something positive, because every good city in the world has a massive night culture and that’s often focused around these type of venues.’’
Red Square operator Michael Bolt has also called for support for the Humber licence by setting up a Facebook page entitled Don’t Bar the Bars.
The page now has more than 1700 likes and has generated much discussion, with supporters echoing Mr Tillman’s views about smaller venues adding much-needed vibrancy and culture.
Mr Tillman chose to share his views as he believed Ms Hay’s letter had come across as negative towards licensed venues.
However, the MP said this was not her intention.
‘‘I’m trying to be proactive, because it’s only a couple of years since Wollongong was being referenced in a very negative way in Sydney,’’ she said.
‘‘My intention is to have as many people as possible to turn up at the forum, because I have been assured by ILGA that they’re very keen to hear what the community has to say.
‘‘I am a staunch supporter of wine bars, I do think they are a good idea and I was part of the lobby group to ensure you could go to a bar and have a glass of wine without having to have a meal.’’
Ms Hay said she wasn’t trying to impose any particular point of view, but wanted residents to come forward so she could represent the ‘‘general consensus’’.
‘‘The response so far has been quite mixed – one of the letters I received was saying they were very happy with the increase in wine bar licences, because it meant people were having a drink and then going home,’’ she said.
‘‘Others were saying they felt we had enough nightclubs – so I think there’s a quite distinct difference between the attitude of my electorate to these different type of venues.’’
However, Mr Tillman said he believed Humber - which would hold the same type of licence as many of the city’s large nightclubs if approved – would not be like other venues with the full hotel licence.
‘‘It’s [existing nightclubs in Wollongong] that are giving hotels a bad name in general, because think about a place like Hobart where the pubs are amazing, or Melbourne’s hotels,’’ he said.
‘‘The problem is that none of our pubs are serving food, but from the sounds of things Humber is trying to actually do that cultured pub scene.’’
The ILGA forum will be held in Wollongong on February 5, with time and location details yet to be published.