A popular neighbourhood music venue’s future looks in doubt after NIMBY neighbours complained to council about the noise coming from the premises and its carpark.
Alison Avron, the owner of The Great Club in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Marrickville, announced on social media that she will be leaving the business after the protracted battle with locals about noise and a failure to reach terms with her landlord.
Ms Avron has operated the club since 2020, but it has been a music venue since 1952.
Despite its 72-year presence in the area, the constant protests of a small number of neighbours hastened its demise after Ms Avron was forced to pay out $30,000 in legal fees to protect the venue.
NIMBY stands for ‘not in my backyard’ and refers to those who protest something that is in close proximity to their home – such as property developments and music venues – but who don’t have an issue with them when they are located elsewhere.
The Great Club had been pushed to the edge of closure by unhappy neighbours for over two years.
‘There’s three of them [residents]. They don’t like the noise in the car park,’ Ms Avron
She revealed on social media on Monday that the noise issue was among a number of other issues which led to a disagreement with her landlord that finally made her close the venue.
‘For some time now, I have been in negotiations with the landlord about ongoing issues at the venue but unfortunately we couldn’t reach a solution that benefited both parties,’ she wrote.
‘Today, I hang up the Boss Lady boots at The Great Club. I am officially unemployed and looking for work,’ she said.
Ms Avron said it had been a ‘wild 72 hours’ but that she was ‘so proud of what I’ve done for Sydney’s music community for the last 13 years’.
The singer also used to run The Newsagency, which was another highly regarded venue at Camperdown, also in Sydney’s inner-west.
There is now uncertainty if planned performances will go ahead, with the venue’s website still advertising events, including The Great Comedy Club on June 27 and several album releases.
But Ms Avron said on social media that patrons will be contacted if their bookings are ‘affected by this development’.
During Ms Avron’s time owning the club, she faced threats of criminal proceedings as well as a licence suspension.
The owner was also instructed to install soundproofing, which would cost upwards of $250,000, and also prevented from staging some live music events.
But Inner West Council, where The Great Bar is located, eventually dropped the action against the venue.
‘I fought laws, NIMBYs, navigated council DAs and OLGR licences, traded through a pandemic, employed great people, helped to shape policies and reforms,’ she wrote.
‘[I] hosted countless artists who’ve gone onto greatness and generally just loved bringing community together to share intangible moments of live music. I will treasure these memories forever.’
Daily Mail contacted Ms Avron for comment.