Honeysuckle bar and restaurant proposal stirs Huntington apartment resident angst

The proposed venue would combine two tenancies on the ground floor of the new Huntington apartment building on Honeysuckle Drive.

Residents and the applicant both addressed a Newcastle council public voice meeting on October 17, which drew a crowd of 35 neighbours after 41 submissions to City of Newcastle about the proposal.

The residents say their main issues are the trading hours and outdoor capacity.

The plans include space for 355 people outside and 175 inside. The venue would open 7am to midnight Monday to Saturday and until 10pm on Sundays.

A server area would also be installed at the western end of the building to facilitate take-away service.

The applicant Damian O'Reilly responded to objections by saying: "in 2023, it is somewhat naive to purchase a property in the Honeysuckle precinct, or for that matter the CBD area, to assume a lack of commercial coexistence after 10pm".

"Licensed premises and residential occupants can live harmoniously, as proven in the Honeysuckle precinct for the last 20 years," Mr O'Reilly said.

Part of the discussion was around capacity and opening hours discussed in previous plans for the space.

Apartment owner Peter Stubbs said a 2020 development application used sound modelling for 215 people indoors and 190 outside.

A plan of management prepared by Doma Group dated January 2020 said "the retail and restaurant component of the development will operate between 7am and 11:30pm. All outdoor seating activities must cease at 10:30pm". The council report said this was provided to owners at the time of purchase.

But Mr O'Reilly said another plan of management dated June 2018 stated the retail component of the development would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Apartments in Huntington were sold out and exchanged by December 2018," he said.

"So it's misleading and grossly inaccurate to quote that an apartment was purchased on the proviso of an outdoor area trading until 10 or 10.30."

Mr Stubbs said residents were also concerned that proposed replacement of existing fixed glazed doors with operable glazed doors would reduce noise containment.

Another apartment owner Adrian Bentley said nearby comparable size venues Honeysuckle Hotel and Hope at Honeysuckle were separated from residences, and venues underneath other residential buildings were "much smaller" and the majority of patrons were indoors with "solid awnings" above.

The council report said there were "no known outdoor spaces associated with a licensed premises within the Honeysuckle precinct with a development consent allowing for use of outdoor space after 10pm of a similar size".

Mr O'Reilly said the hours were in line with other venues in the precinct and an acoustic report "demonstrated substantial compliance and concludes that there would be no reason to refuse the application".

He said he had been in the Newcastle hospitality industry for 25 years, including 15 in Honeysuckle, having previously run The Squire's Maiden (now Honeysuckle Social) and Isobar (now Hope Estate at the Landing).

"I've operated very successful venues within very close proximity to residential occupants," he said.

"Both previous Honeysuckle premises were open-style venues with extensive outdoor areas. Both venues traded externally and internally up to midnight."

Mr O'Reilly said closing the outdoor area at 10pm would lead to "substantial revenue loss" as people would "simply choose to dine elsewhere as they can stay later".

"What's the point of having a harbour-side venue when you're locked up inside from 10pm?" he said.

Double glaze doors, closed vent louvres and acoustic baffles will be used to minimise acoustic impacts. Residents will also have access to a number "at any time day or night" to a manager on duty to alleviate concerns that arise, Mr O'Reilly said.

Mr Stubbs said the residents understood there was going to be a venue in the space, but expected "sympathetic trading", such as only opening until midnight indoors.

The council has flagged that it may recommend restricting use of the outdoor area to 10pm, which was also recommended by police.

But Mr O'Reilly said he had a similar condition placed on the former James Squire Brewhouse and he spent three years working to get that changed to midnight.

"I won't do that again," he said. "It substantially affected the business.

"We're spending all this money to get these people into town to have a harbour-front venue that you arrive at and say 'you can only sit inside in summertime and it's 28 degrees'."

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