Sydney’s live music scene issues plan to cut red tape

Leichhardt’s former mayor Darcy Byrne and the Sydney Fringe Festival have submitted a drastic proposal to the Inner West Council in a last-ditch effort to bolster Sydney’s withering live music and arts scene. 

It proposes the scrapping of costly development applications for site owners, instead allowing every type of property zoning, excluding residential, to be converted into a small-scale arts venue without the need to submit a DA.

Under these conditions, cafes, offices, retailers, factories and warehouses could all become small-scale live performances venues, increasing the amount of rehearsal and performance spaces available to artists in the Parramatta Road precinct. 

Currently, a temporary approval to use a site in Sydney can amount to thousands of dollars. The red tape associated with the approval process is beyond the means of many local businesses who wish to allow a live music and entertainment performances on their premises.

Kerri Glasscock, Sydney Fringe Festival director, utilised a number of vacant lots along Sydney’s Parramatta Road to display exhibitions for last year’s Festival. One particular landlord worked with both Glasscock and Byrne to transform his unused warehouse into a suitable exhibition space, and has plans to convert it into a permanent live music venue if the proposal is approved.

According to Byrne, Inner West Council’s current administrator has taken positively to the plan. However, the outcome of the proposal will be determined by the new council, once elected.