Back in January, the NSW government announced they’d be removing a lot of the red tape around closing streets for public events – bringing a whole lot more life to Sydney’s neighbourhoods by making street parties easier to host. Now, they’ve confirmed sixteen local councils have been granted special permissions in a pilot program to bring more public events to Sydney’s streets – with the aim of making free street events “a regular fixture”.
On September 1, the NSW government announced they’d be supporting sixteen local councils across Sydney and NSW to make hosting free community events (such as street parties, festivals and pop-up markets) cheaper, faster and easier. Across the pilot areas, councils can apply for grants of up to $500,000 to provide permanent on-site power, water, safety barriers and/or bollards to make hosting events a whole lot more achievable.
“Whether it’s a Ramadan Nights in Lakemba, the Festival of W in Wagga Wagga, or a Spring Fair in Drummoyne, these events speak to the local personality of their communities, they bring people together and support local businesses,” NSW Minister for Roads John Graham explained.
The $8 million ‘Permit/Plug/Play’ pilot project will turn 65 local streets into event-ready sites, with the aim of helping tackle the cost-of-living crisis in NSW by providing free-to-access events to bring more vibrancy to communities across the state.
“These events bring communities together, having fun and supporting local businesses without blowing the family budget,” says Minister Graham.
As well as supporting event infrastructure, the grants will also be used to develop transport management plans to minimise the wider impact of street closures – in partnership with Transport for NSW’s $19.7 million Vibrant Streets Package.
The pilot program will be introduced in Bayside, Burwood, City of Canada Bay, City of Canterbury-Bankstown, City of Parramatta, Georges River, Inner West, Liverpool City, Northern Beaches, Penrith City, Randwick City, Waverley, City of Newcastle, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Wagga Wagga City and Wollongong City. Lessons learned from the pilot program will inform the government’s state-wide approach to street parties moving forward – with the government explaining they hope to make street parties “more sustainable and more regular across the state”.
You can learn more about what this might mean for your neighbourhood over here.
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