Here's what happening at the moment. Have a look just to keep yourself informed, or consider getting involved in what's important to you.

Update:  UN/DCM closes its doors

Following the Land & Environment Court decision handed down on 12th August, that refused to grant it another trial period for extended hours, DCM has closed.

An official announcement posted on its website states it will be closing its doors, effective immediately - but moving to Havana at 169 Oxford Street.

The court's judgement is now publicly available, and you can read it here.

Update: Council refuses The Gaff's DA - again

The Gaff nightclub and bar at Oxford Square is seeking to expand its ground floor and increase capacity by over 60%.

The application was refused under delegation of Council on 5th March 2008.

That decision was upheld by the City of Sydney’s Small Permits Appeals Panel on 8th August 2008 i.e. the DA has been refused. We'll post Council's formal notification of the decision here when it's available.

Our community voiced its objections to this proposal loudly - with dozens of personal submissions,  75 responses to the online petition (with most people also adding their own comments), and 12 people speaking at the Small Permits Appeals Panel.

Update: Land & Environment Court decision on the Burdekin Hotel

4 months after the hearing, the Land & Environment Court handed down its decision on 25^th July. Not only has it approved the Burdekin’s application, it has also given it a 3 year trial period.

This is despite:

• 43 separate letters of objection submitted to Council, and
• over 100 people in the hotel’s immediate vicinity signing a petition objecting to any extension of approved hours for the Burdekin Hotel’s PoPE activities beyond those during which it currently trades, and
• the Councillors’ unanimous refusal of the application

You can read a summary of what’s happened in this matter over the past 18 months; why residents opposed the application; and what the court had to say here

After having witnessed the entire court proceedings and now having seen this judgement, we are appalled and speechless – and are not prepared to take this decision lying down.

We will be assessing the options available to us over the coming week. Your ideas and suggestions are very important, and we’d love to hear them. You can comment (anonymously if you wish) on this matter at the end of this page or email us at contact@hpcvoice.com

Have your say: Draft Liquor Promotion Guidelines

The draft guidelines on liquor promotion are now available for public consultation. You can email your comments to the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing before 31st August 2008.