Hot off the NSW Planning Portal website is the Planning Proposal that seeks to establish a Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP) in Manly via amendments to Manly Local Environmental Plan 2013 with the addition of a map of the SEP boundary and a corresponding local provision, and State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts—Eastern Harbour City) 2021 to enable land at Manly Cove that is located outside the Northern Beaches local government area to be included in the proposed Manly SEP.

NSW Planning has uploaded 13 documents in support of this proposal, all very long, boring and technical. The first document is the Acoustic report Draft Planning Proposal Report - Attachment C - Acoustic Report, the Sound Management and justification document, 38 pages providing details regarding the development of the Sound Management Plan (SMP) for the Manly SEP, informed by the NSW Special Entertainment Precinct Guidelines and Acoustic Toolkit. It includes strategic policy considerations, development standards, application requirements and compliance procedures. The framework is tailored to Manly’s unique coastal character. heritage, and community aspirations. The development of the SEP Sound Management Plan (SMP) has been informed by the data sources outlined in Appendix B. Annex C provides the details of the noise surveys conducted, effectively verifying how loud and noisy Manly is already. and on it goes….

All these documents, including one that analyses the community responses to the Council’s various consultations effectively says that a significant majority of residents support ‘a vibrant Manly’ and therefore the SEP, justifies the need for the Manly SEP

But, the proposed Manly Special Entertainment Precinct should be refused. Not because the Precinct Management Plan is flawed (though it is). Not because the Sound Management Framework is technically deficient (though it is). It should be refused because, under the current Vibrancy Reforms legislation, any declared SEP structurally strips rights from residents inside the precinct that every other resident in the Northern Beaches retains.

The moment a SEP is declared over Manly, approximately 8,000 residents have their rights to make complaints about noise or anti-social behaviour are diminished, their regulatory protections are neutralised, and the cost of mitigating a problem the government chose to create falls entirely on them. No Precinct Management Plan, no matter how carefully drafted, can remedy this. These are features of the Liquor Act 2007 as amended by the Vibrancy Reforms, not features of the Precinct Management Plan. Even though the report identifies various issues such as recommendations to increase late night public transport availability, install additional lighting for security, deploy additional police to manage anti-social behaviour, and engage additional compliance staff, these are only recommendations and there is no funding to make any of this happen.

Council is hosting a meeting at the end of September to discuss the Acoustic Report with community representatives and the Manly Community Forum.

Read the 19 reasons to Say No the Manly SEP on the Manly Community Forum Website and get ready to make a submission and write to the Councillors when the consultation opens.