Popular inner-city Sydney pub faces closure after council slapped restrictions on it for playing 'gentle jazz music' until 7pm on Saturday nights Sydney City Council banned a pub's live jazz It said it received noise complaints The Eveleigh Hotel finishes its jazz at 7pm By Ashley Nickel For Daily Mail Australia Published: 21:48, 4 March 2023 | Updated: 21:48, 4 March 2023 e-mail 11 View comments A small pub in inner Sydney has been forced to stop its famous 'gentle jazz' sessions after a 'nanny state' crackdown by a local council. The Eveleigh Hotel in Chippendale has started an online petition to reverse a range of restrictions imposed by Sydney City Council. The quiet corner pub describes itself as a 'family friendly community hub' and is best known for its 'gentle jazz' sessions that wrap up by 7pm every Saturday.
However, council claims it has received 'several complaints' about the pub and its patrons, including that customers are unruly and the music is too loud. As a result the council has banned live music at the pub, restricted how many people can sit at a table before 8pm, demanded renovations and ordered the pub to close its windows and doors to reduce noise. Sydney City Council has banned The Eveleigh Hotel (above) from playing live 'gentle jazz' music on Saturday nights Council said it received several noise complaints about the pub which describes itself as a gambling-free, 'family friendly community hub' (pictured, patrons at The Eveleigh) The clampdown has infuriated locals who say Sydney council is taking the fun out of the city.
'For the past year or so we have been the victim of incessant noise complaints from a neighbour, complaints that we and our community of patrons consider to be unfounded and unfair,' the hotel wrote under its petition. 'We at The Eveleigh Hotel completely and utterly reject these proposals and we hope that the public will help support us in this action. 'At immense cost and personal effort our management and staff already responded to previous restrictions from the council, despite the fact that we did not believe these restrictions to be founded upon reasonable judgement or sound evidence.
' Poll Are Sydney's strict rules killing small businesses? No - Businesses need to be kept in line Yes - Council is making the city boring Are Sydney's strict rules killing small businesses? No - Businesses need to be kept in line 2 votes Yes - Council is making the city boring 42 votes Now share your opinion The Eveleigh said its staff had been under incredible stress from the restrictions and constantly fear they're being watched for mistakes by people looking to complain. 'Actions taken by the council have caused great damage to the essential character of The Eveleigh Hotel,' it said. 'It's difficult to explain the degree of stress and anxiety experienced by the staff who, as one member of the front of house team put it, 'feel constantly on edge' as a result of ever-anticipated complaints.
'To our great distress, staff have described experiencing an 'anxious atmosphere' at The Eveleigh in which any slight infringement of the rules may be witnessed and photographed by a complainer or council themselves. 'Such an atmosphere has, in one case, led to an actual stress-related physical illness for which an ambulance had to be called during a shift. ' The owner wrote that the continued restrictions and rules for guests could see The Eveleigh close.
'Unfortunately, these restrictions are immediately detrimental to the viability of our family-run business in the future,' it wrote. 'The danger is that ongoing restrictions could very well result in the closure of the pub as you know it. ' The Eveleigh (above) has started an online petition to lessen the restrictions council has imposed - which include closing its doors and windows, no live music and limiting how many people can sit at a table Furious neighbours around The Eveleigh (above) slammed council for destroying their 'community hub' The petition has gained more than 1,000 signatures since it was created on Wednesday.
The Eveleigh also highlighted that it is a gambling-free pub that specifically focuses on building community atmosphere. 'Both the council and the NSW government continue to claim they are supporting the hospitality industry,' the hotel wrote on its Instagram page. 'We do not have pokies.
We do not have televised sport. We have lovely customers and we always close-up shop at a reasonable hour. ' Hundreds of dedicated patrons of the pub as well as community members said the closure of the pub would be a massive loss.
PETITION TO SAVE THE EVELEIGH HOTEL To sign the petition to reduce council's restrictions on The Eveleigh Hotel, click here .
co. uk/v8/gb/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox. html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - -> Advertisement 'This is Sydney city! Move to the bush if you're bothered by a pub!,' one person wrote.
'I feel very lucky to live down the road from the Eveleigh - I love the quiet and friendly neighbourhood atmosphere, great food, no pokies,' another said. 'Stop making Sydney an absolute joke. Residents of Chippendale can deal with a modest jazz night, early on a Saturday evening,' a third person said.
'Saturday jazz at the Eveleigh is one of my favourite things that makes me feel part of my local community!,' another person wrote. A fifth person said: 'I have lived just down the road from the Eveleigh and it has to be one of the nicest pubs in Sydney. ' However, the decision was vehemently defended by Sydney City Council.
'The City has recently received several complaints about the Eveleigh Hotel in relation to noise from the venue,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'As with any noise or other complaints of this nature, the City assesses any issues against the health, safety and welfare of the community. 'After visiting the hotel, we found the noise levels for the pub exceeded the acceptable standards for a venue.
' The spokesperson said council tried several times to reach an agreement with the pub before enforcing the restrictions. More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to reintroduce live jazz at The Eveleigh (above) since Wednesday The Eveleigh (above) 'completely and utterly rejects' council's findings that it is too noisy and its patrons are disruptive 'We made several attempts to resolve the issue with the owner by suggesting potential solutions, including relocating several dining room tables, using felt pads on chair legs and removing chairs,' they said. 'We subsequently highlighted the need for noise mitigation measures to be put in place for the provision of live music to continue.
'We encourage businesses to proactively engage with neighbours to establish ongoing dialogue and enable quick action to resolve any complaints when they occur. 'Where possible, we work with venues to try and resolve noise or other problems without taking regulatory action. ' THE EVELEIGH HOTEL'S RESPONSE TO COUNCIL'S RESTRICTIONS 1.
Future live music is banned. 'The only live music we present at The Eveleigh is distinctly family-friendly, both in noise-levels and in character. 'Our live jazz events, which take place on Saturday afternoons, finish at a modest 7PM.
'The NSW government claim they wish to support hotels in moving away from gambling by promoting live music but how could any hotel owner, looking at what has happened at The Eveleigh, hope to succeed in this?' 2. Outdoor seating is reduced to a maximum of six people on two tables until 8PM. 'In the last year we have already reduced our outdoor seating from 9 people and a 10PM curfew to 8 people and an 8PM curfew.
'We do not understand why we are being asked to reduce our outdoor seating yet again when the Sydney City Council have stated in numerous places that they wish to support businesses to increase outdoor seating during the post-pandemic period. 'Sitting outside will protect our customers from potential risk of airborne viruses, particularly more vulnerable people, and it will also promote a positive social environment where people are showing a friendly presence on the street. ' 3.
Side windows and doors must be closed to prevent noise leakage. 'The result of this proposal will reduce air flow to unsafe levels within the pub and, as a result, the atmosphere will be too hot during summer and the oxygen levels will be reduced. 'Encouraging air-flow through open windows and doors was an intrinsic element of the hotel’s architectural design 150 years ago.
' 4. Costly renovations must take place to reduce noise leakage. 'According to a noise assessment carried out by an independent audio specialist in 2019, Acoustic Logic Consultancy, our noise levels were judged not to exceed the limits upheld by the council.
'We have already carried out renovations of an estimated $60,000 in recent years, responding with great patience to the council’s comments and we are currently carrying out yet more renovations. 'We do not believe that further renovations should be necessary or that the Eveleigh Hotel should be liable for future expenses. 'If particular neighbors feel they are affected by noise levels which allegedly originate from our hotel, we believe they should be responsible for the cost of sound-proofing their own homes.
'To this end we would like the Good Neighbor policy, implemented in other areas by Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne, to be instated here. ' 5. The pub is also on a 'final warning' after allegations its customers have caused disruption in the area.
'The Eveleigh hotel welcomes a diverse range of customers from the local area. 'The Aboriginal communities of Eveleigh and Redfern are particularly important to us. 'As an inclusive hotel The Eveleigh regularly welcomes LGBTQ+, hard-of-hearing/deaf, and multi-national and ethnically diverse groups.
'We believe that our customers are sociable, responsible, and proactive in improving the community’s safety and wellbeing. 'We do not recognise allegations that our customers are anti-social, aggressive, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate towards other members of the community. 'We do not condone or accept any such attitudes in our hotel.
Our staff perpetually enforce our duty of care towards our customers and neighbors, for example by encouraging and reminding customers not to hold their drinks outside. ' Share or comment on this article: Petition for live jazz to continue at The Eveleigh Hotel after Sydney City council's ban e-mail Add comment Comments 11 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated. View all The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
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