I live in a residential building less than 20 metres away from the entry point of The Barrie, 54 Regent Street Chippendale which was not included in the planning documents (no mention of other nearby residential buildings either). It has 18 units (about 70 residents) all without soundproofing as it is a heritage Co-Mason building.
Many Units look over the laneway that is supposed to only be a smoking area.
I write on behalf of all 18 Units. If required we will each put our names to this document.
The residents are largely owners with some investors - solo residents, flatmates and families with children that attend local schools. Children as young as three were sleeping with ear plugs in as less than 20 metres from their bedrooms was an illegal two level nightclub with outdoor bar running until 4.30am (illegally beyond trading time) operated.
It is not an industrial area - it is a residential area. Why is this building directly across the road not mentioned in any planning documents?!?!
During the past two years there has been incredible issues with The Barrie.
I quote:
“ I just wanted to keep you updated that I stopped at the Barrie last Saturday night and spoke to the manager about some non-compliances occurring at the time.
Further enforcement is occurring and the importance of managing the laneway and public domain have been stressed to Mr Kim, which will hopefully contribute to better management moving forward.”
“Thank you for the information, I’ll review the illegal awning and lighting matters and discuss this with our planning team.
In relation to the other matters, I believe these are currently being investigated by late night licensed premises team who have an ongoing investigation.”
“The city has recently issued enforcement action against the operators of the Barrie and additionally has successful prosecutions in court. Should the venue not display good management, the city will take this into consideration in September when the venue has the option to renew its extended trading trial periods.”
“I refer to your complaints regarding The Barrie, Chippendale (hotel), which you forwarded to Liquor
& Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) on 20 and 22 of July 2024. The complaints alleged that the hotel was
playing loud music with large crowds causing a disturbance until the early hours of the morning, as
well as other operational issues related to the venue.
Following receipt of the complaints L&GNSW commenced an investigation that involved
coordination with NSW Police, the City of Sydney Council who also co-regulate licensed premises.
L&GNSW has conducted a number of covert and overt inspections at the hotel to evaluate
compliance with the relevant legislation, with a specific focus on sound emanating from the hotel.
During these inspections breaches of legislation under the Liquor Act 2007 were identified and
L&GNSW has taken enforcement action.
L&GNSW has also engaged with hotels management on numerous occasions since receiving your
complaints to review policies and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance is achieved.
NSW Police have advised L&GNSW that they identified noncompliance with the relevant legislation,
which resulted in the hotel being issued infringement notices and warnings issued for breaches of
the Liquor Act 2007 following inspections conducted by Police and City of Sydney Council
conducted on 27 July and 3 August 2024.
L&GNSW understands that the City of Sydney Council are still making enquiries surrounding the
operation of the hotel.“
All are documented with images and letters including:
- An illegal extension of a flammable plastic roof covering and then an unauthorised permanent roof structure (that was torn down by Council) over the outdoor area that was turned into an unauthorised outdoor bar where alcohol was consumed in the laneway by over 100 people for months (we have over 100 dated photos);
- Unauthorised neon lighting that shone into our bedrooms;
- Up to 500 people in the venue which was licensed for 120 on many occasions (there were several Police operations to close it down) - all documented on time stamped videos and photos;
- Furniture (such as large bulky couches and tables) in the laneway blocking the only entry/exit point and a fire hazard- documented with photos;
- Operating TWO floors of nightclubs for 400 people over many months despite only having approval for one floor/120 people;
- Marketing free drinks for females (sexist and offensive marketing on their Instagram page and poster put around the area) and serving alcohol well beyond 4.30am - we can provide photos/documents;
- Operating as a nightclub playing high decibel music that could be heard in every room of our building using illegal sound equipment that was documented in images;
- Illegal disposal of empty cans and bottles in unsecured garbage bags at 5am that homeless people drank - documented in images;
- Urination and vomiting on the street that was not cleaned up - patrons from the venue caught on our security cameras urinating on our building and sexually harassing/following female residents trying to get in;
- Excessive violence by patrons with street fighting, destruction of property etc. all documented;
- Inadequate security - no security guard, no ID checks - all caught on our building’s CCTV footage.
