The Great Club threatens to close down because of local NIMBYs

In a suburb voted the ‘coolest’ in NSW, noise complaints by local NIMBYs have forced a historic pub to turn to crowd-funding to stay afloat, with the venue facing the prospect of closing for good.

The Great Club in Marrickville is fighting for its future.

A historic Sydney music venue, situated in what’s been voted the coolest neighbourhood in NSW and has hosted the likes of Mahalia Barnes and Tim Rogers, has been forced to turn to crowd-funding to stay afloat.

The Great Club in Marrickville has operated as a club since 1952, and despite the area being a beacon for the city’s music and culture scene — in 2022 it was the only NSW suburb to feature in Time Out’s List of 51 coolest neighbourhoods in the world — is under the threat of being shut down in the face of continual noise complaints from neighbours.

In Time Out’s 2022 list of the coolest 51 neighbourhoods in the world, Marrickville came in at #33 — the highest ranking in NSW.

The club’s licensee, Alison Avron, one of very few female operators of music venues, has spent more than $20,000 in legal fees and has started a fundraiser to fight the closure from NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard.) neighbour complaints

In January she was threatened with criminal proceedings, which the local council quickly revoked. But she has been warned she may have to pay a $250 000 bill to upgrade sound proofing at the venue.

Alison Avron, owner of Marrickville's The Great Club, is fighting threats to close down her music venue due to noise complaints, despite the venue existing in the area for more than 50 years. Picture: Richard Dobson

Avron, who had only just begun recouping her costs after post Covid lockdowns, said the financial pressure could close the venue.

“Like many other music or hospo venues in Sydney, the onerous Covid restrictions and shut downs from 2020 to early 2022 heavily impacted my business,” she said.

“To now have to go through this process adds an additional toll on the business’s already strained financial position, not to mention, my physical and emotional health,” she said.

“After much consternation, the only way we could see The Great Club continuing to operate while we deal with these issues was to reach out to the community and ask for financial help.”

The club is part of the Inner West Council area, which in 2019 implemented a Good Neighbour Policy to fight these sorts of issues through mediation not litigation.

Avron said it hasn’t worked in this instance.

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne told The Daily Telegraph a meeting is scheduled this month between the club and the neighbours concerned and he is confident the issue will be resolved “without the venue being shut down”.

“The Great Club has been one of the most successful new businesses in the inner west to come out of Covid,” he said.

“Everyone needs to understand that a venue has rights and obligations. That doesn’t mean venues have a green light to do whatever they want but Sydney has seen too many iconic venues shut down because of the persecution of live music venues.”

Avron, who ran The Newsagency previously, says besides initial acoustic audit recommendations implemented when they first opened, the venue has also increased its security presence, ensured sets finish at 11pm so everyone is well gone by midnight, set up a direct phone line for neighbours to call with issues, offered car spaces for closest neighbours, employed a sound technician to do frequent decibel readings at some events and closed outdoor area for eating at 8pm to keep neighbours happy.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne believes the venue will continue to operate. Picture: AAP Image

She will continue to fight to preserve Sydney’s lack of medium size music venues.

“I love live music. I’ve spent 15 years dedicating my life to the live music industry that I can’t imagine doing anything else. I’m probably the only female live music venue owner in Sydney so if I give up, what message does that send to young women wanting to have a crack at a leadership role in the hospo or music industry?” she said.

“If I stopped fighting, the opportunities I create for 20 plus staff and contractors would be lost, the revenue I generate for other small businesses is gone and the magic moments audiences get to experience with their favourite artists is dissipated, for what? A few NIMBY neighbours? No thanks.”

It comes after iconic rock and roll music venue Frankie’s shut its doors in December to huge public outcry.

According to the Live Music Office around 200 venues have closed during the past decade of lockouts and subsequent lockdowns.