B.Social/Oakden Central

 

NEW LIQUOR LICENCE APPLICATION AT OAKDEN CENTRAL

 

WHAT IS THE CURRENT LICENCE OF THE OAKDEN CENTRAL?

The Adelaide Juventus Sports and Social Club Inc currently has a Club Licence at the premises known as the Oakden Central, located at 246 Fosters Road, Oakden.

The current licence approval, from 2007, allows them to operate the following hours, under the following conditions-

1.  The trading hours (including Extended Trading Authorisation) are varied to the following:

Areas 1 – 4:

 Sunday to Thursday 9am – 1am the following day                                                                                                        Friday to Saturday    9am – 2am the following day

Areas 5 – 6:

 Sunday to Thursday 9am – 10pm                                                                                                                                    Friday to Saturday   9am – Midnight

2.  Entertainment Consent shall apply during the above trading hours, but only in respect of Areas 1-4, and all external doors shall be kept closed whilst entertainment is in progress.

3.  The licensee shall convert the western end of Area 5 to a smoking area and that the western end of the area contain a partition to the height of 1.8m.

4.  The licensee shall arrange circulation to all neighbours in the nearby vicinity of the premises of a card containing the contact telephone number for the premises.

5. The licensee shall erect and maintain a prominent sign at the main entrance to the premises requesting patrons to leave quickly and quietly in the interests of nearby local residents.

6. The licencee shall each day at closing time station an approved Responsible Person at the main entrance to the premises to monitor the orderly and quiet departure of patrons.

7. The licensee shall take and implement advice form a landscaping architect with a view to increasing the density of existing plantings/foliage between the existing palm trees at the front of the property, with a view to reducing car headlight spillage and departing patron noise in the interest of residents living opposite the premises.

8. Paragraphs 1-7 of this Order shall operate for a trial period expiring at the end of February 2008, and to be reviewed by the Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner not less than 7 days before that time on written notice to the parties.

9. Liberty to any party to apply on not less than 7 days written notice to the other parties.

WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED?

The new lessees of the restaurant and bar area of the Oakden Central, MTM Holdings Pty Ltd, have, through their solicitors, applied to the Liquor Licensing Commission for different conditions to the existing ones enjoyed by Oakden Central.

This was advertised in the City North Messenger and The Advertiser on July 8th 2015 and there is a notice on the front door of the Oakden Central as well.

I cannot find any evidence of any local residents being notified directly.

The Adelaide Juventus Sports and Social Club (Adelaide City) have leased an area of their premises comprising the restaurant and bar area to a company called MTM Holdings Pty Ltd.

The new lessees are proposing to extend the current hours as following:

Legal Notice

NOTICE OF LIQUOR LICENSING APPLICATION – CITY NORTH MESSENGER 8/7/15

Public Notice in CNM 080715

There was also an article in the City North Messenger of July 8th about the new lessees which is reproduced below:

Article on Bar Social CNM 080715

In this article, Mr Matthew Bruno, co-Partner of Bar Social (and I presume one of the Ms in MTM Holdings Pty Ltd), is quoted as saying the following:

…the restaurant would bring a much needed city feel into the suburbs which he thought “was lacking”.                                                                                                   “We decided to go out of our comfort zone and make this a live music venue, a woodfire pizza bar…and function destination. We are creating something new in the suburbs…”

Further ideas on what they have planned are on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Barsocialadelaide?fref=ts

THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH DISTURBANCES DUE TO THESE PREMISES

Many residents in the nearby streets of Northgate have already reported ongoing incidences of behaviour from patrons of the above premises causing undue offence and disturbance.

A sample is below from a resident of The Promenade who wrote to me with these allegations:

Apart from general noise / traffic issues, the establishment already affects nearby residents via merry makers who find entertainment in leaving garden taps on, falling asleep on front lawns, damaging letterboxes, trampling plants, littering etc.

Other residents have reported allegations of patrons sleeping, vomiting and urinating on their properties, theft of garden ornaments, vandalism to properties, throwing of beer bottles onto properties, deliberate antagonising of dogs, fighting in the premises car park, and general loutish behaviour, mostly after midnight.

After being contacted by a resident of Northgate after publication of the above notice, I met with him and decided to ask residents for their opinions on this changes, as did this resident and another one, by doorknocking residents in the vicinity.

I was shocked by the number of complaints I received about the current situation. Local people were very concerned about the offence and noise pollution now, let alone with extended trading hours.

Accordingly, I moved for Council to lodge an Objection Application to the proposed extended trading hours at the July meeting of Council, which Council staff have added to since.

And of course, as of time of writing, over 90 Objection Applications have been lodged with the Office of Consumer & Business Affairs by myself, signed by Northgate residents objecting to the extended trading hours.

Residents will be represented in the Liquor Licensing Hearing by myself, and up to four residents of Northgate who have lodged Objections.

I will continue to update progress on this issue, on this page, as they occur.

If you wish to be emailed when there is an update rather than checking all the time, please add a comment below to that effect or email me and I will add you to the Bar Social Email List.

Finally, I would like to make it clear that not only am I supporter of Adelaide City Soccer Club (and have been so since a teen), but that also my family and I, along with many residents I spoke to in Northgate, are patrons of the Oakden Central, and welcome an upgrade of the premises, but not at the expense of the peace of mind of local residents.

UPDATE: 30/7/15

Clelands, the solicitors representing MTM Holdings Pty Ltd have contacted me to arrange a pre-hearing chat to see if we can resolve residents’ objections. This will be held on Monday August 3rd and they have agreed to allow other Objectors representing residents to attend.

I will update again on August 3rd after this meeting.

UPDATE: 1/8/15

The Office of Liquor Licensing & Gambling have contacted the Objectors who are also Representors (and me) to advise that the hearing on this matter has been adjourned to a date yet to be set, probably August 6th or 10th.

All residents who have lodged Objections now have their copy of it, as well as a copy of my second letter to residents regarding this matter.

I have also been told that one resident, who lives further away from the premises than almost all of the Objectors, allegedly received a copy of the notice from the applicants. Frankly, I find that incredulous.

UPDATE: 3/8/15

Today, 3 residents and myself met with the lawyer representing MTM Holdings Pty Ltd (Rinaldo D’Aloia of Clelands) and the Directors of that company, who have lodged the Liquor Licence Application.

In a meeting lasting over two hours, we nutted through the issues and found many areas on which we could agree, despite some areas where differences remained.

Even though no ‘final agreement’ was reached, as one of the representors was not able to be present and some Objectors asked to be contacted again with suggestions for hours and conditions, I feel considerable positive movement was made as well as the positive that meeting the new lessees face to face always helps with communication.

Compromises proposed include no changes to current outdoor conditions:

10pm close Sunday to Thursday

Midnight close Friday to Saturday

Doors closed and no music to be played outside after these hours.

Trading hours (inc ‘Entertainment’) to be limited to:

Midnight close Sunday to Thursday

1am close Friday to Saturday

Karaoke (weeknights) to be limited to:

10.30pm shut off

Opening time to be brought forward to 8am to allow breakfasts.

Other conditions include the licensee to provide a Responsible Person (as defined in the Liquor Licensing Act) to escort patrons out at closing time after Karaoke and Functions;

A card to be supplied to local residents detailing relevant Bar Social contact people and phone numbers in case of problems;

A direct phone line to a taxi company for patrons.

No discussion took place on Public Holiday hours so it is likely that remains an area of dispute.

Please note that none of this changes the current licence conditions for the Pokies Room or the Adelaide City Function Centre which remain as is (see above in green) as Bar Social are not involved in those areas.

Please let me know what your thoughts are urgently on the above proposals so I can take them to the hearing when that is held.

UPDATE: 8/8/15

The Conciliation Conference will be held on 13/08/15 at 3pm at 91 Grenfell St, Adelaide regarding Application for a Restaurant Licence with Extended trading Authorisation and Entertainment Centre at Bar Social Restaurant.

I will be representing most residents there, along with Northgate residents Adam Knolder and Valerie & Claire Gordon. The City of Port Adelaide Enfield will be represented as well, and I understand so will the North Adelaide Football Club, as licencees of the Grand North.

As there is unlikely to be any more news on this matter until that day, I will update this site again later that day with the progress of the Conciliation Conference.

If any resident wishes to add anything for me to say on your behalf, please let me know by Wednesday night – you can say it publicly below, or if you wish to keep it private, give me a call (please no calls Wednesday as I am at a family funeral).

UPDATE: 13/8/15

It appears residents have had a real victory in the Liquor & Gambling Commission on the afternoon of the 13th.

Over 90 residents were represented by myself, along with Northgate residents Adam Knolder, Dong Tran and representatives from SA Police and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield who had also lodged objections.

Also in attendance were the applicants (MTM Holdings t/a Bar Social), with their legal representatives, Rinaldo D’Aloia from Cleland Lawyers, and a mediator/chairperson from the Office of the Liquor & Gambling Commission.

I won’t go into details of the negotiations, but they lasted two hours and were very intense.

With minutes to go before the matter would be adjourned to a court hearing, a compromise agreement was reached between the parties, which involved:

The OUTSIDE trading hours will be:

Sunday to Thursday 8am – 10pm

Friday to Saturday 8am – Midnight

No entertainment is permitted outside.

The INSIDE trading hours will be:

Sunday to Thursday 8am – Midnight 

Friday to Saturday 8am – 1am

Days preceding Public Holidays 8am – Midnight

ENTERTAINMENT Hours to be:

Sunday to Thursday Noon – 11pm

Friday to Saturday Noon – Midnight

Days preceding Public Holidays Noon – 11pm

Christmas Eve Noon – 10.30pm

CONDITIONS:

The licensee shall each day at closing times station an approved responsible person at the main entrance to the premises to monitor the orderly and quiet departure of patrons;

On any specific Karaoke Night, the Karaoke shall cease at 10.30pm;

Speakers in the outside area to be turned to face inwards;

Doors and windows to the outside to be closed during the hours of Karaoke and Entertainment.

The applicants’ lawyer also gave an undertaking to deliver 50 cards with the premises’ phone number to local residents in case of trouble at the premises.

Look further up this page to what the current hours are and what the applicants had applied for: THIS IS A TREMENDOUS VICTORY FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS!

Please note that none of this changes the current licence conditions for the Pokies Room or the Adelaide City Function Centre which remain as is (see above in green) as Bar Social are not involved in those areas.

Further down the track when Bar Social is operating, I will endeavour to organise a meeting between Adelaide City Soccer Club, Bar Social, key residents and myself to try to prevent, or at least minimise, the current problems from continuing to occur from the Adelaide City run Pokies Room and Function Centre.

I am sure, now we appear to have this matter resolved, that Bar Social can become a welcome and valued member of our community and local residents can also sleep easier at night.

UPDATE: 6/9/16

I have been able to grab hold of a copy of the conditions put on Bar Social as part of the negotiations in 2015 as above, and with it the original planning approval from the City of Port Adelaide Enfield for the premises in 2006, when the Adelaide Juventus Sports and Social Club Inc (read Adelaide City) received planning permission to change their facilities usage.
Even though not listed as a condition, I understand the Office of the Liquor & Gambling Commissioner denied the applicants the usage of the name ‘Bar Social’ as it indicated a bar, whereas the application was meant to be for a restaurant and function centre.
Accordingly, the applicants were forced to change the name of the restaurant to B.Social, which I think sounds better anyway.

You can see the rest of the conditions on the attachment below:

Liquor Licensing Final Conditions 2015

Since last time I posted B.Social has been running with few apparent problems. I have received a handful of complaints of excessive noise and one of a fight in their car park, but no reports of operating outside of their hours of operation or breaching other conditions.
I have on two occasions used a decibel meter to measure noise coming from the function centre, and despite it being a little loud at times, statutory limits were not breached.

If you want to keep an eye on what they have planned, who knows – you may even wish to attend! – here is their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Barsocialadelaide/?fref=ts

I will update on this page any changes to circumstances that need to be noted.

UPDATE: 21/12/16

On December 11th at approximately 10.30pm I received a complaint from a nearby resident that B Social was still open in the outdoor al fresco section section with a DJ playing amplified music from brought in speakers which was so loud it could be heard as far away as Vickers Vimy Reserve!

The music was eventually turned off at around 11pm.

B Social’s licence is such that it cannot use this area after 10pm on a Sunday night, and the speakers for the area have to be turned towards their building, and no louder than background music.

A resident submitted a video of this incident to me and I passed it onto Council staff, one of whom interviewed a representative of the licensees on December 20th to advise them of the report of the breach and to remind them of their licence obligations.

I make no apology for representing residents in this instance. All local residents ask for is the licensee to keep to their obligations under the Liquor Licensing Act and B Social will be a welcome part of the community. Surely that is not too much to ask?

2 comments

  • Champion result Mark! Really happy that you are representing the interests of the local residents! Your efforts are hugely appreciated.

  • My thanks are long over due! Thank you for representing our interests, our family really appreciates everything you have done.

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