The so-called Vibrancy Reforms through the NSW Government’s 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 are designed to make it cheaper to shut down streets.
The state government posits it can currently cost more than $100,000 to shut a street down for a single day, through a combination of the development application and traffic management costs.
A new pilot program will look for cost savings by planning in advance for multiple events to be held in the same location.
A ‘global approvals’ model for street events and events in public spaces, inspired by Wollongong City Council, will also be rolled out across 127 councils around New South Wales.
Wollongong City Council has a variety of parks and streets in its local council area already pre-approved for events, so organisers don’t need an development application.
Guidelines for councils, event organisers and businesses will be made available to streamline and cost-optimise the use of streets and public land for events, in part by not requiring repeated approvals to use the same space.
“As a government we want to support communities, businesses and councils to bring life and vibrancy back to our streets,” said the NSW minister for music and the night-time economy John Graham.
“Councils will be helped to streamline pathways for creatives and community groups to stage pop-up events and festivals, including street closures and global pre-approvals for event sites.
“This is giving communities the chance to have more fun outdoors but is also way in which we can assist the cost-of-living crisis by making it cheaper to arrange events.
“People want to be able to use their streets as public spaces – they own them.”
