‘About time’: Sydneysiders welcome 24-hour city

Sydney is a step closer to matching the nightlife of some of the world’s biggest cities, with young people saying it’s “about time”.

Sydney is one step closer to becoming a city that never sleeps with the Minns government meeting with Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s team this week to discuss the rollout of 24-hour entertainment precincts across the CBD.

The Daily Telegraph last week revealed new plans by the City of Sydney council to allow CBD entertainment businesses to operate all night long.

The plans for the entertainment precincts will allow bars, clubs, cafes and retail shops across the majority of the CBD to apply to open 24 hours a day.

The plans will go before the City of Sydney council for exhibition on Monday evening.

The proposal also gives small bars and clubs in the CBD the option to apply for an additional three hours of late-night trading to 4am without a development application.

Night-Time Economy Minister John Graham has welcomed the new plans and has revealed he will meet with the council this week to discuss how the state government can help with the rollout.

“This is the first time in a generation that the NSW state government and the City of Sydney are pointing in the same direction on the night-time economy,” he said.

“We both have the same goal – a 24-Hour Sydney.”

Solotel Group CEO Elliot Solomon wants to make all its venues 24 hours like the Abercrombie Hotel in Broadway, which has an all-day licence. Picture: Jonathan Ng

As part of the NSW government’s new vibrancy reform package, councils like the City of Sydney looking to set up special entertainment precincts will be eligible for up to $1 million in grants.

Industry leaders have welcomed the City of Sydney’s proposals with open arms. Solotel chief executive Elliot Solomon said that by allowing retail stores, restaurants and cafes to stay open 24-hours it will have an impact on the number of people coming to pubs and clubs.

The Solotel group owns multiple venues around the city including The Abercrombie near Broadway and the Opera Bar.

Mr Solomon said Solotel would be applying for all eligible venues to have a 24-hour licence.

“For our business, like any kind of industry, we just want certainty,” he said.

“With the new policy being brought in, people can see this and more will start to invest in late night infrastructure and bars, or spend more money on events and parties.”

From left: Deanna Pserras, Zoe Kennedy and Catriona Piper at the Abercrombie Hotel in Broadway. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Committee for Sydney chief executive Eamon Waterford said the fact that both the NSW government and the council were working together on opening the city up was “something to celebrate”.

“The next important step in this will be to look beyond liquor licences and the way that we regulate alcohol, and think about making sure that people are able to do anything after dark, not just get a drink,” he said.

“How can we support restaurants? How can we support dry cleaners or supermarkets to open later?”

Young Sydneysiders are also keen to live in a city where there are exciting things to do 24 hours a day. Hospitality worker Zoe Kennedy said many people in her sector who finish work late would welcome a more vibrant late night scene.

“It’s about time, Sydney deserves to have night-life like London and Berlin,” she said.

“I understand what it’s like to finish late and extending the city’s hours would create more fun options for hospitality staff to enjoy with friends after work.”