City of Sydney bans major events from council parks to protect the grass
The Premier has hit back at the City of Sydney Council’s decision to ban events at parks due to “climate change”, claiming the move is a shield for NIMBYism and will cripple attempts at returning people to the CBD.
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Premier Chris Minns has called the City of Sydney’s decision to blame climate change for its grass ban a “massive stitch-up,” claiming the council should not use the issue as a shield for its blatant NIMBYism.
Mr Minns fired up on Wednesday after Mayor Clover Moore refused to walk back the ban despite his calls to overturn the policy.
Her City of Sydney council stands accused of crippling attempts at bringing vibrancy back to the CBD by banning festivals in council parks.
The premier took particular issue with the council’s claims that events cannot be hosted in local parks because climate change was leaving the sites damaged after hosting hundreds of people.
“To say this is just in relation to climate change is just a massive stitch-up, I mean I think (council) should be fair dinkum - if they don’t want to have community festivals they should just come out and say it,” he said.
“I think (Ms Moore) has made a big mistake here.”
Mr Minns said the government would knock back future appeals from the City of Sydney to expand parkland, referring to the decision to cut Moore Park Golf Course in half, if the council would not allow the public to use green spaces for events.
“My government has made big efforts, major strides, to open up more open space in the CBD. We’ve caught a lot of criticism for it, particularly around Moore Park.
“We’re not going to continue to do those kinds of changes if, in the end, they’re going to be locked up and hermetically sealed and people will be stopped from accessing open space.”
“The decision needs to be reversed. Sydney is not just (for) the residents if you’re going to be the mayor…have to think about that responsibility.”
City of Sydney councillors on Monday night voted to reaffirm the ban, first slapped on the council’s parks in 2022.
The policy, imposed under a “Lord Mayoral Minute,” prevented “all bookings in our public parks for any existing and future events, particularly commercial events that are for more than one day”.
The council noted that “climate change is accelerating severe weather events,” and “increased rainfall in the lead up to and during outdoor commercial events … (has) resulted in significant damage to large sections of the parks.”
It came after Labor councillor Olly Arkins tried to get council to approve new commercial events in Victoria Park at Broadway.
“Right now, when someone wants to do an event in our city parks, staff are forced to say no,” Cr Arkins said.
“This is about giving people a reason to stay out, to celebrate their neighbourhood, (and) to connect with others through music and creativity.”
The ban was originally imposed after the Night Noodle Markets in 2022 turned Prince Alfred Park into a muddy quagmire.
Certain events, like the Mardi Gras Fair Day and the Yabun Festival, are exempt from the ban. The Night Noodle Markets have never returned.
Yesterday Mr Minns called for the ban to be overturned, to bring “vibrancy” back to the city.
“We need to be sensible here,” he said.
Industry figures declared the festival ban is damaging Sydney’s reputation as a global city.
Business Sydney Executive Director Paul Nicolaou said the policy “is having significant implications for Sydney’s cultural and economic landscape”.
Event promoter Simon Beckingham said the City of Sydney recently knocked back two proposals for new music festivals: one in Victoria Park at Broadway, and the other in Sydney Park in Alexandria.
“We’re lagging behind cities like New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles, and even Melbourne; we’re not in the same league.”
While government-owned parks like the Domain and Centennial Park are often used for festivals, they are too expensive for “smaller, boutique events,” Mr Beckingham said.
Chef Luke Mangan, who is trying to establish a new Sydney Food Festival, said banning events from council parks entirely was “ludicrous”.
“A policy should be made so that people who want to revitalise the city can use council for their event, with the responsibility that they must leave it how they found it,” he said.
In a statement, a council spokesman said the state government should make it cheaper for promoters to book venues like The Domain and Tumbalong Park.
“If these spaces were more affordable there would be more options for live music offerings without events and artists being liable for the cost of returfing, or limiting residential access to their local park.”
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Originally published as City of Sydney bans major events from council parks to protect the grass
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