DCM Moves To The Heart Of The Strip

Local News, By Christian Taylor, 14th August, 2008

Nightclub DCM has been ordered by the Land and Environment Court to close at midnight. It’s the best news we’ve heard since T2 lost its entertainment licence, and a great step forward for those who have been working tirelessly to reclaim Oxford Street as a safer, gay friendly space. Although we’re not out of the woods just yet.

Just days before the announcement of the council order, DCM advised their patrons that they were moving to new premises while their venue underwent “renovations and soundproofing”. As of this weekend the DCM and UN crowd will be moving into their new home at Havana, right next door to Stonewall Hotel.

Talk about out of the frying pan, and into the fire! If anything the restrictions on DCM have made the problem worse, at least in the short term, by plonking the crowd from this problematic venue right next to the gay heart of the strip.

No doubt the queue out front of Havana will make life even tougher for Stonewall security, who have their queue to manage, not to mention all the smokers outside.

The City of Sydney’s decision to cancel the DCM’s 24 hour trading was based on ongoing complaints about noise, lack of effective management and police concerns. Other breaches of conditions were cited in the Court decision, including failure to lodge an acoustic report, manage patron queues and provide adequate security staff.

In the judgement, Commissioner Murrell said: ”[The venue] has not consistently demonstrated a commitment to proper management and concern for patrons or the local community… the excessive number of patrons in the nightclub from time to time is of great concern. Potentially endangering lives cannot be tolerated”.

A story in today’s Sydney Morning Herald alleged that the venue was often patronised by bikie gangs, and stated that on one occasion police were told by security that there were only 178 people inside the venue, but a count found there to be 800 more than that.

Your Thoughts

Hey there, you need to be logged in to get involved with SameSame, click here to login if you're already a member, or here if you need to become a new member.