Thanks for everyones support and kind words ... Swingin Safari was always going to be an experiment to test a different way of working with a strong cultural and community ethos...remember 11 years ago we started on a 3 month lease followed by month x month. It was through the support of locals who then told the tourists, that this continued for 11 years and for that we thank you all. THE HUGE INTEREST THESE LAST FEW DAYS ALSO SAYS MORE ABOUT THE NEED FOR VENUES WHICH FACILITATE CREATIVE ENDEAVOUR WHICH OFFER SPACES FOR THE WEALTH OF TALENT WE HAVE HERE TO PERFORM AND TEST THEIR IDEAS. However it is important to clarify I think.... its not the Council thats closing the place its been a combination of factors being the Council Show Cause notice to prove we were not trading as a Tavern which carried a threat of a $189,000 fine to the property owners [ which I am confident would have been withdrawn] , plus a Liquor Licensing inspection which was part of a State Wide review of Restaurants prior to new Compliance laws on the cards all hit at the same time when we were in the midst of trying to negotiate a lease with the Chinese investors who bought the property. Business is business though and they want a return prior to redevelopment of the site. It is only fair that they do not want to be confronted by things like this, hence have asked us to vacate and the property will be offered for lease again. To anyone thinking of having a go, the old house needs a bit of love spent on it..and my suggestion is to seek a Commercial Liquor License with Tourism/Cultural Development as the primary purpose: - this will enable sale of food, drink,entertainment, events and collaboration with external promoters - basically what we have done for 11 years. This was our plan anyway and would need Council to endorse it of course. this would not call for a material change of use but a change to the Primary Purpose away from Provision of Meals as the primary purpose which is what a Restaurant carries, which, I am told are going to get very tough from a compliance perspective in the near future. ITS NOT ALWAYS THE JUST BUILDING OR ITS DESIGN WHICH MAKES IT ICONIC BUT WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE IT THAT GIVES IT THAT STATUS Would be nice if our City Council would perhaps survey the buiding save the classic timber and features from destruction before it gets bulldozed and rebuilt it out of new material with all its features right down to the Crab Cooker Etched windows [circa 80-90s ] at the new creative precinct maybe and turn it into our first Clubhouse for the Creative Community . Surely we have enough Surf Clubs and Sporting Clubs already how about a network of local Clubs for Creatives designed and built by local designers and artisans ! Be the change you want to see Warm regards and appreciation to all from The Swingin Safari
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:49:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015