Access to shopping, food and entertainment venues comes with the territory for those who choose to live in the inner-city.
Access to shopping, food and entertainment venues comes with the territory for those who choose to live in the inner-city.
In fact it’s this availability of services and lifestyle options that attracts many people to inner-city living in the first place.
But it seems that view isn’t universal.
For some, certain aspects of inner-city living, mainly the nightlife, are not so attractive.
Rather than move to a quieter patch, however, several Perth residents are seeking to change the environment around them. And many are succeeding.
Some inner-city residents have lodged noise complaints with the Liquor Licensing Authority, a process that often requires operators to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees defending the claims.
Noise complaints have increased substantially, according to hospitality operators and liquor licensing lawyers, although venue owners claim noise levels from their businesses haven’t increased.
What seems to have sparked the legal wrangling is a change in the Liquor Licensing Act in 1998, which reduced the number of people needed for a complaint to be lodged against a licensee from 10 to one.
This process has dramatically changed the way some venues are permitted to do business.
The Norfolk Hotel in Fremantle, for example, can no longer play music.
The Grosvenor on Hay Street spent thousands of dollars on sound attenuation devices but was eventually forced to change into a food and beverage pub after a single resident’s regular objections to noise. As a result, live bands are no longer permitted to play at the venue.
Similar noise complaints mean Lamont’s Restaurant in East Perth doesn’t host any functions.
Despite having spent thousands of dollars on sound attenuation equipment, the Old Swan Brewery restaurant and can’t hold functions in its alfresco area after 8pm.
Steve’s at Nedlands can’t serve jugs of beer on Wednesdays, a condition designed to make the venue less attractive to students. And it’s worked.
And Perth-based Hudson Gallery awaits a decision after spending $100,000 defending a noise complaint in the liquor licensing court from neighbour, Anne Apthorp.
Ms Apthorp is no stranger to the process. She has previously lodged objections to the Belgian Beer Café, and WA Business News understands she also made complaints against The Monkey Bar and Carnegies on Murray Street.
While Liquor Licensing Authority acting director Peter Minchin said it was inappropriate to provide information relating to complaints lodged by residents, WA Business News understands that some residents to make complaints about a new Mustang Bar proposed for South Terrace in Fremantle are no strangers to the authority.
They include: Darrel Cake, who raised objections to The Norfolk Hotel’s application for ongoing trading hours and The Clink’s application for ongoing trading hours; Terrence O’Connor and Anna O’Sullivan, who objected to the Mustang Bar licence; Maria Donohoe, who has made complaints against The Norfolk Hotel, Benny’s Bar, and the recent Mustang Bar application.
According to several decisions by liquor licensing director Hugh Highman, available on the authority’s website, many of the complainants are not concerned with the noise of the actual venue, but rather the unsocial behaviour by a few patrons.
Hoteliers suggest that, if longer trading hours were introduced, patrons would leave over a longer period of time, rather than all at once, allowing for easier crowd control and lessening the disturbance for neighbours.
But despite this argument, when many publicans apply or seek renewal of extended trading permits local residents object, citing the anti-social behaviour as their concern.
Many of Perth’s hospitality operators believe that the problems will only continue as more inner-city and inner-urban apartments are built.
However, operators suggest most people move to inner-city areas because of the lifestyle options – a mix of retail, restaurants, and nightlife.
One source was contacted by a Fremantle resident organising objections to the Mustang Bar.
Another said one resident was given special treatment by hotel owners, including being given trips down south, in order to prevent liquor licensing objections.
According to one of WA’s leading liquor licensing lawyers, John Prior, while the act allows for frivolous and vexatious applicants to be quashed, it has never been employed.
He said the State’s liquor laws have swung in favour of residents.
“There have been more and more of these noise complaints that go to hearing,” Mr Prior told WA Business News.
He said bringing back the 10-person rule would alleviate many of the problems.
Australian Hotels Association WA executive director Bradley Woods said there had been an increase in the section 117, or noise, complaints by residents.
“Sometimes you get vexatious residents who are only satisfied when venues are shut down and complain for those reasons other than those that are valid,” he said.
“There needs to be better checks and balances. In a lot of situations where there are complaints it normally boils down to one or two people who have adopted an issue.”
Several hospitality operators spoken to by WA Business News believe residents should have a voice at liquor licensing but disagree that it should only require one disgruntled neighbour for a case to be heard.
Neil Randall, AHA president and owner of the Paddington Ale House, has taken extraordinary lengths to minimise disturbance to neighbours.
Mr Randall said he paid for a fence to be built after one resident complained about beer bottles being left on his property.
He has employed extra security guards to monitor neighbouring streets and has closed the bottle shop early so patrons cannot buy more alcohol to consume on the streets.
Mr Randall said the complaints against his venue were from just a few people.
“We’ve had three or four people who are quite hostile,” he said.
“Ninety-five per cent of people love our place but there’s 5 per cent that don’t and it does make it expensive and is frustrating.”
