Kings Cross club with biker connections refused request for extended trading hours denied by Sydney Council.

OFF THE WIRE
Source: sydney-central.whereilive.com.au
Rouge Down Under nightclub in Kings Cross has had its request for extended trading hours denied by Sydney Council.

“There are compelling reasons for refusal,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said at a meeting on Monday night.

However, the fact that Kings Cross is a State Government liquor freeze precinct was not one of those reasons.

The director of Rouge Down Under, Ms Lili Chel, was seeking to reinstate a trial allowing the club to trade from 3am to 6am that had been allowed to lapse twice before.

The club has a current licence allowing the sale and consumption of alcohol until 6am.

NSW police submitted a 15-page objection to the trading hours extension citing poor management and noncompliance issues, including 18 incidents of violence between May 2008 and April 2010 and 10 breaches of the liquor act.

The council refused consent on a number of grounds related to the Late Night Trading Premises development control plan. According to the DCP, a renewal or extension of trading hours may only be permitted if council is satisfied that a venue has demonstrated good management performance and compliance with a plan of management following the completion of a satisfactory trial period.

It was also decided that extending the club’s trading hours would exacerbate social issues such as noise and antisocial behaviour due to cumulative impact.

Council research has found that Kings Cross residents believe there is a saturation of bars and clubs in the area.

It also confirmed that extending the trading hours of licensed premises is linked to increases in alcohol-related violence.

Last weekend, three shots were fired into the nearby Bank Hotel on Darlinghurst Rd just before 4am after a man was allegedly refused entry.

Although she denied links to the Nomads bikie gang, Ms Chel told the council last week that her husband is the club’s former president.