Bondi Public Bar pleads with Waverley Council to cut red tape over opening hours, live entertainment

Hot on the heels of Bondi residents pleading with the local council to revitalise the area’s nightlife, a beloved bar has asked it to remove a “lockout” condition and cut red tape around live entertainment.

Bondi Public Bar. Picture: Jonathan Ng

A vibrant drinking hole on Bondi Beach is pleading with a local council to stop the onslaught of red tape preventing it from staying opening later and hosting live entertainment.

Bondi Public Bar has submitted a development modification application to Waverley Council, seeking to delete a condition which imposes a “lockout” from midnight on Monday to Saturday and 11pm on Sunday.

The venue is also asking the council to remove a condition that requires it to continually seek approval for live entertainment.

“The objective of the application is to remove restrictions on the operation of the premises, which do not materially contribute to its good management, or have been rendered obsolete as a result of ongoing legislative reforms to the late-night economy”, council documents state.

“As such the application is considered in the public interest.”

Bondi Public Bar during the Melbourne Cup.

The application follows frustrated Bondi Beach residents recently pleading with Waverley Council to revamp and revitalise the nightlife of the famous beachside suburb, with the former boss of the iconic bar The Bucket List saying it has “lost its soul”.

“There are just too many rules and regulations and the fun went out of it for me,” Andy Ruwald previously told The Daily Telegraph.

Outside at Bondi Public Bar. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“(The old) days will never come back, unfortunately, with the way the council is and everything now.”

Mr Ruwald ultimately decided to move to Bali to manage venues.

Bondi Public Bar’s tenancy as a pub was first approved in 2016, with opening hours between 8am and 11pm from Monday to Saturday and 8am to 10pm on Sundays.

It was granted permission to extend the hours for internal areas, allowing those to open between 7am to 1am on each day except Sunday, when closing time was an hour earlier.

The bar was later approved, in 2019, to allow live entertainment and amplified music for a trial period that was later extended.

The venue now hopes to remove restrictions which force it to seek council approval every couple of years.

Any changes would be minimal, with council documents stating queues outside the venue would effectively extend for a further 30 to 45 minutes during peak periods and the pub would take “appropriate measures to monitor and manage” the behaviour of its patrons.

Bondi Public Bar has been contacted for comment.