A noise-hating neighbour who recently moved to an inner-city suburb has succeeded in shutting down live music in the courtyard of the pub next door after just one complaint, in an incident that has sparked fresh debate about licensing restrictions and NIMBYs.
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The Harold Park Hotel in Glebe admitted it has flouted development rules for at least five years by hosting Sunday afternoon live music sessions in its alfresco courtyard without permission.
But fifth-generation hotelier William Ryan told the Herald "the system ain't right" if a single complaint could lead to his popular, mostly acoustic event being muzzled.
"No one complained in five years. The system is broke if one person can upset the apple cart," he said. "I'm not in the right here but I'm definitely not in the wrong."
Debate has raged online and in council corridors about the decision, which some see as an example of "not-in-my-backyard" behaviour by newcomers to inner-city suburbs.
Mr Ryan said he was contacted by several councillors and state MPs since complaining about the issue on Facebook last week. He harboured no grudge against the City of Sydney for enforcing the law by threatening him with a $6000 fine if he persisted in the outdoor sessions.
"Council has done nothing wrong. They're not the bad guys," he said.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman confirmed the hotel was explicitly prohibited from staging live music outdoors under its development application. Asked why he never applied for permission, Mr Ryan said the compliance costs were too high, including a $15,000 acoustic report and additional costs.
"It could cost me between $20,000 to $30,000," he said, adding the music sessions had always been "low impact", consisting mostly of unplugged guitars and vocalists.
The council said it had been in touch with the hotel about assisting it to comply with the rules, including a possible $5000 grant toward the acoustic assessment.
The hotel doesn't hold performances inside, where it does have a permit, because it says the area is used as a dining room.
According to a summary of the complaint sent to Mr Ryan by the state liquor authority, the neighbour complained of "bass and higher frequency tones" that were "clearly audible over [their] television".
The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, "did understand there would be some noise" when they moved in next door but was concerned the "current level of disturbance" was excessive.
City of Sydney councillor Jess Miller said it was a "pretty terrible" situation and sympathised with the hotel, but the council's hands were tied as long as it flouted the rules.
"I see nothing at all wrong with live music in venues, especially when it's Sunday afternoon and it's acoustic," she said. "I find it difficult to see how it can cause offence."
Cr Miller said council's task was to find the middle ground between venues and residents, especially given the changing demographics of the inner-city.
"My suspicion would be that as property prices increase and rent increases, you're probably finding more empty-nesters coming in from the suburbs and potentially more families with little babies," she said.
"They probably like some aspects of city living, but there's some strange expectations of suburban or even rural existences on the fringes of the city - which makes life difficult."
