City of Sydney approve plan for 24-hour city, new night-life precincts

A 24-hour CBD and bookshops open until 2am on main inner-city streets. That will be the result of a landmark plan approved by City of Sydney Council on Monday night.

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Businesses in Sydney’s CBD will be able to open 24 hours per day, while new late-night inner city hubs will be created, under new planning controls from the City of Sydney.

They will allow those living in hot spots including Glebe, Newtown, Surry Hills and Potts Point to pick up a novel from your local bookstore at 2am, and enjoy live music into the early hours.

The Draft Sydney Development Control Plan — Late Night Trading was resoundingly approved on Monday night, as Mayor Clover Moore declared it was “time for Sydney to become a 24 hour city”.

Clover Moore said the controls would enliven the city.

“More than 10,000 people told us they want Sydney to have a diverse and exciting night-time economy with events and activities for people of all ages and interests,” she said.

“What they don’t want is a city that is unsafe or that shuts down as soon as the sun goes down.”

The controls do not impact on Sydney’s lockout laws, but instead allow unlicensed and low impact business located both in and outside of the lockout zones to extend their trading hours.

A 24-hour zone would be created across the CBD from George St at Central Station to Hyde Park, Circular Quay and Darling Harbour.

A map of the proposed 24-hour zone in the CBD.

Unlicensed premises in ‘City Living Areas’ — located in Broadway, Surry Hills and on Oxford St — would be also allowed to open all day and night.

There would also be a 24-hour cultural precinct created in an industrial part of Alexandria, as the council looks to activate developing residential areas such as Barangaroo and Walsh Bay.

Low-impact businesses in extended and new ‘Local Centres’ — including on main streets in Glebe, Chippendale, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Redfern, Waterloo, Pyrmont, Woolloomooloo and Erskineville — would be allowed to trade until 2am.

The new local centres.

That would allow small bars and restaurants currently bound to shut at midnight to open later.

More than 1000 submissions were received on the changes to planning controls, with the majority in glowing support.

Cr Peter Thalis told councillors on Monday the new plan balanced the “legitimate and competing” opinions of inner city residents.

“Since the lockout laws everybody’s been saying Sydney is dead, whether that’s true or not,” Cr Thalis said.

A night view of a Sydney city pub and busy street.

“Our obligation as councillors is to make Sydney alive.”

In support of the new regulations, Cr Christine Forster said Sydney’s late night economy had “suffered horribly” since the introduction of the lockout laws in 2014. She hoped the plan would restore a “vibrant and safe night economy”.

Businesses will be able to apply for extended trading hours through a development application.