‘So dull’? ‘Dying’? ‘Glow-up’? What inner westies really think about their suburbs

Jim Flanagan opened live music bar Lazy Thinking last year to help give Dulwich Hill and nearby suburbs more “cultural infrastructure”. It’s a small space where you can catch a local band, buy a record and drink independent beer or low-intervention wine, and is inspired by venues Flanagan loved in London and Berlin.

By programming sets that start and finish later, he’s also trying to be the change he wants to see in the world – or, more precisely, in Sydney. “We are still far too much of a 9pm city. It’s a big problem,” he says. “I’m really, really trying to hold the line there and stay open as late as I can.”

A gig at Jim Flanagan’s Lazy Thinking in Dulwich Hill. “We are still far too much of a 9pm city,” Flanagan says.Credit: Liam Black

Flanagan would be heartened by the results of a recent consultation undertaken by Inner West Council, which found overwhelming support for more late-night entertainment and fewer noise restrictions.

The feedback also unearthed strong feelings about certain inner-west locations, with some saying Balmain was “dead as a doornail” at night and Leichhardt’s Norton Street had become depressing, while many felt Marrickville and Dulwich Hill were on the cusp of greatness.

The findings will bolster the council’s drive to create six “special entertainment precincts” based on the Enmore Road original, with relaxed noise rules and later trading, outdoor dining and live music encouraged. The state government will also announce on Wednesday that 18 other NSW councils have started the process of establishing their own special entertainment precincts.

Of the six inner-west sites, support for more nightlife and live music was highest in Marrickville, Marrickville North, and Dulwich Hill (where support exceeded 90 per cent) and lowest in Balmain and Rozelle, although the number of responses was low, from 36 in Rozelle to 120 in Marrickville.

Support for reinvigorating Leichhardt was also high, though weighed down by concerns about the Petersham Inn, a sports bar and strip club.

One person identifying themselves as a long-term Leichhardt resident described the suburb as a “sad shell of its former self”. Another said Norton Street was “dying a slow and painful death” and “drastically needs any help that it can get”.

In Balmain and Rozelle, just over half of residents’ responses backed new nightlife precincts, with many noting the legion of empty shopfronts on Darling Street and lamenting that the main drag was quiet even on Friday and Saturday nights.

“It’s so dull,” one person said. “You have to leave the suburb to find any nightlife and atmosphere. I find we go to Enmore, Newtown and Surry Hills these days as Balmain is dead as a doornail.”

The main sentiment in Marrickville and Dulwich Hill was that the suburbs were going in the right direction but would benefit from looser restrictions to help night-time businesses thrive. Several noted the arrival of new music venues such as Butchers Brew and Lazy Thinking in Dulwich Hill.

A 27-year-old who grew up in Marrickville and still lives there said they had witnessed the area’s “glow-up” firsthand.

“We FINALLY don’t have to leave for Newtown or the city to enjoy nightlife and access music, arts and culture,” they wrote. “Pubs and restaurants are popping up, but we are still short of live music venues and arts spaces.”

However, another person was sceptical about what they viewed as council-led gentrification.

Darling Street in Balmain last Saturday night.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

“Stop culturally cleansing what was a fully functional DIY music and arts scene in the inner west, particularly around Marrickville,” they wrote. “You can’t make the underground mainstream, and forcing all the ‘poors’ out isn’t doing you any favours as far as ‘optics’ are concerned.”

Inner West Council was due to consider the findings at a meeting on Tuesday night. Labor Mayor Darcy Byrne said residents across the inner west would enthusiastically embrace more live music and entertainment in their suburbs.

“Enmore Road has been a great success, but it was already thriving,” he said. “Some of these other streets … they are places that really need revitalisation. We’re hoping this is not just a shot in the arm but a catalyst for renewal.”

Byrne said even in Balmain and Rozelle, residents were raising the issue with him unprompted. “A lot of people moved into Balmain and Rozelle in previous decades because it was a fun, vibrant and interesting place,” he said, and they wanted it back.

Gasoline Pony in Marrickville last Saturday night.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Flanagan said as artists and musicians were priced out of suburbs such as Newtown and Balmain, they flocked to Dulwich Hill, Ashbury and Hurlstone Park.

“That area has become the new independent music community capital of Sydney,” he said. “That’s great, but the cultural infrastructure hasn’t yet caught up.”

Flanagan said after years of governments stifling Sydney’s live music and night-time entertainment with lockouts and regulations, they seemed to be taking a different approach.

“The tone and the nature of the conversation have really changed from ‘how can we stop you?’ to ‘how can we help you?’” he said. “But the execution is still often not as effective as it should be.”

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