A PLAN to turn Oxford St into an arts, culture and innovation precinct could give it a new lease on life.

Heather McNab - October 25, 2017 - 10:58AM

The idea comes as community groups, City of Sydney council and local MPs have renewed calls to reinvigorate the strip and roll back lockout laws.

The late night precinct has sustained ongoing blows since the introduction of the Baird government’s controversial lockout laws in 2014.

Head of the Darlinghurst Business Partnership Stephan Gyory would like to see Oxford St becomes its own precinct. Picture: John Appleyard

Since then well-known venues such as the The Midnight Shift and Exchange hotel have closed. A 2015 survey of more than 200 businesses found they had experienced a 31.0 per cent drop in annual turnover.

“We’re living hand to mouth down here,” Darlinghurst Business Partnership president Stephan Gyory said. “We’re all surviving, but it’s not fun just to survive — this is Oxford St,” he said.

Frustrated with a lack of action by all tiers of government, locals and politicians are exploring solutions to the lockouts, fast moving traffic and how to revive the economy.

Mr Gyory: “The government needs to start to think about the night time economy as part of a 24-hour cycle. Day, evening and night economy as one living, breathing organism.”

He said lockout laws were a containment policy.

Drawing on the City of Melbourne’s Policy for the 24-Hour City and Brisbane City Council’s Special Entertainment Precinct in Fortitude Valley, Mr Gyory would like to see Oxford St declared an arts, culture and innovation precinct.

It would be the first of its kind in NSW, a pilot precinct which would ideally be run under a state government body spanning multiple departments including planning, liquor and gaming transport and justice.

The late night precinct has sustained ongoing blows since the introduction of the Baird government’s controversial lockout laws in 2014. Picture: John Appleyard

New development would have mandatory sound proofing, include low-rent creative spaces and some affordable housing, he said.

However Liberal councillor Christine Forster said the responsibility for activating the strip lies with council.

She said while the State Government’s main property is the Darlinghurst Court area, the City is a major landowner along Oxford St — 40 per cent of the street frontage in the strip leading to Taylor Square is in its portfolio.

“The City has been negligent in its treatment of Oxford St in my view,” Cr Forster said. “I have been saying for many years that we need a whole fresh look at how we handle our property portfolio which is extensive on Oxford St,” she said.

In August, the City adopted plans to secure a long-term tenant for 12,000 sqm of property along the strip. Some of the properties have been abandoned since 1995.

“What council should be doing is lobbying hard for the State Government to excise Oxford St from the lockout area,” Cr Forster said.

“Oxford St never had a street violence problem and it certainly doesn’t now,” she said.

DBP’s masterplan for the area proposed a light rail link through the CBD to Bondi.

Independent MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich also supports exempting live music and performance venues, small bars of 120 patrons or less and well managed venues from the lockout. “Oxford St remains an entertainment, retail and community hub and its potential as a thriving arts precinct can be seen in the growing creative industry presence,” he said.

“But the lockouts, clearway and fast moving, noisy and polluting traffic are barriers to us achieving a full revival.”

Along with the City, Mr Greenwich has consistently called on the State Government to remove clearways and to reduce the speed limit to 40km/h. Light rail should also be introduced, he said.

This call has been echoed by residents for many years and was floated in the DBP’s masterplan for the area with a light rail link through the CBD to Bondi.

Following concern that the road is operating above capacity, a multi-modal road network plan for the Oxford Street Corridor as part of Transport for NSW’s Movement and Place framework is due next year.

Cr Christine Forster has been pushing for a reinvigoration of Oxford St. Picture: Craig Wilson

Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich would like to see exemption from the lockout laws for certain venues.

A City spokesman said it was “using all the levers at its disposal to revitalise Oxford St”.

The City has spent more than $45 million on public domain upgrades and capital works projects since 2011 and allocated more than $500,000 worth of business grants to Oxford St retailers.

“We’re working with Transport for NSW and RMS on a number of measures to balance the needs of residents, businesses and visitors on Oxford St.

“Options include street layout modifications, lower speed limits, parking changes and public domain improvements,” the spokesman said.