Canley Vale nightlife set to soar with new Special Entertainment Precinct powers

Farfield Council has applied for Canley Vale to become a Special Entertainment Precinct.
The same methods that turned Enmore Road into a dynamic strip will be used to transform Canley Vale Road and Canley Vale Heights.
Burwood has also applied for its fresh-faced Chinatown to become a Special Entertainment Precinct.
READ MORE: The Squire’s Landing just landed a 24-hour trading licence.

When you think of having a big night out in Sydney you typically think of Surry Hills, Darlinghurst or Bondi. But a rather aggressive play for a stronger, wider and more robust night time economy is pushing nightlife further out to Western Sydney.

How west? Canley Vale west.

Farfield Council will be establishing two zones along Canley Vale Road, in Canley Vale and Canley Vale Heights, to leverage the uptick in foot traffic. Large migrant communities have shaped this area for decades, so there’s a rich diversity in flavours that pack into Canley Vale’s bustling eat street. Think traditional Lao, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Middle Eastern and some American fare as well.

The southwest Sydney food hub has clearly been popular enough for the local council to apply for the 24-Hour Commissioner’s highly discussed Special Entertainment Precincts program. Considering what the place-making tool has already done for Enmore Road, steadily turning the strip into one of the city’s most exciting scenes, it will be interesting to see what the new Special Entertainment Precinct powers do for the Farfield Council.

So what are those powers? Essentially, being dubbed a Special Entertainment Precinct means local councils have less red tape to contend with when deciding on trading hours, sound requirements and more so they can make their own precincts more vibrant and exciting.

“The new SEP framework has been designed for flexibility, and councils can use it to protect and help existing venues, future-proof new precincts, or grow their local going out districts,” said 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues when talking to the Sydney Travel Guide.

*Burwood’s Chinatown has become one of Sydney’s most exciting new developments (photo: City of Sydney).*

A new Chinatown emerges

If there’s one suburb that’s really been the talk of the town lately, it’s Burwood.

Sydneysiders can’t help but fawn over what Burwood Council have done in establishing a world-class Chinatown. This too has now become a Special Entertainment Precinct, covering three blocks around Chinatown Burwood where the council will have tighter control

As Music and Night-Time Economy Minster John Graham puts it, Burwood (and Canley Vale) will use similar planning rules and lessons from Enmore Road to become “our next hubs for vibrant nightlife.”

“We are now backing dozens of very different nightlife precincts right across the city and state,” he continued.

“Some will be about bars and nightclubs, others will be about food, art, culture, night markets or retail.”

Establishing more Special Entertainment Precincts across all parts of Sydney and NSW is exactly how the Minns Labor Government is planning to elevate Sydney’s nightlife into a more varied, dynamic offering for locals and visitors.

“The lockouts and overregulation under the former Liberal government decimated our nightlife,” said Graham.

“We are determined to bring back Sydney’s nightlife block-by-block, neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood.”

“Anyone’s who’s been out in Enmore will know it’s been a huge success. Now the same planning tools will boost other precincts, but in a flexible way that helps harness the unique personality of each community.”

When will these changes take place?

Both Farfield and Burwood councils hope to start trialling their new powers by the end of the year. They have already received state government funds for strategic planning, acoustic framework development and community consultation.

Chinatown Burwood spokeswoman Iris Chen has already been quoted saying the Special Entertainment Precinct designation will “help elevate the precinct” and create more opportunities for late-night dining and live entertainment.

15 local councils have applied to become Special Entertainment Precincts so far. With Enmore Road being the state’s very first, and Burwood and Farfield to follow, we only hope this means a radically different, better nightlife moving forward.