CROWN AND ANCHOR AND LIVE MUSIC SAVED!
Adelaide
A Huge Day for Live Music in Adelaide, South Australia.
The State Government of South Australia has passed legislation to not only protect Adelaide’s iconic live music venue the Crown and Anchor Hotel, but to enshrine further safeguards for other key live music venues within the boundaries of the City of Adelaide, securing the future of live music in the state’s capital.
The special purpose legislation was passed after the Government successfully negotiated an agreement with the developers to protect the iconic live music venue from demolition. An important issue faced by cities around the world, the legislation looks to balance increasing accommodation demands with the unique cultures that help define it and make Adelaide an attractive place to live.
The legislation will ensure that the Crown and Anchor Hotel cannot be demolished, that it cannot be built over, and that its current land use as a hotel and live music venue will be preserved.
The legislation also amends planning laws to protect significant live music venues in the City of Adelaide area from complaints from future neighbours.
A select committee of the state’s Legislative Council will also be established to inquire into and report on local and live creative venues, with a particular focus on the impacts of, and reasons for, the recent loss of live music and local creative venues in South Australia and understanding the cultural, social, economic and other contributions made by local and live creative venues.
Ten years ago, South Australia transformed the way governments around Australia and the world value and support live music and their music sectors with a raft of innovative reforms, programs, and infrastructure. The South Australian State Government’s announcement to strengthen protection for live music venues will be welcomed by cities around the world who are looking for mechanisms to protect and support their own suffering live music sectors.
The UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network annual conference in Braga, Portugal supported embedding Culture within the Sustainable Development Goals as a stand-alone principle. Core to its strategic priorities, this move reiterates the importance of culture as a positive tool for change. The conference called on all member cities to review and commit to embedding culture within their urban design, economic, and social policies.
South Australia’s announcement goes beyond a philosophical commitment and shows how cities can work with developers and communities to balance and support economic and cultural development.
Adelaide City of Music would like to thank and congratulate the Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas, the Government of South Australia, and everyone who worked tirelessly to achieve this victory. It is a testament to the strong cross-party and inter-governmental support that victory was achieved.
Recognising the importance of local heritage and local culture, especially while the city continues to rebuild post-COVID-19, Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith and the City of Adelaide council have led with dialogue, engagement, and action throughout the process.
The level of Inter-government and cross-party support from the Australian Labor Party, the Greens, the Liberal Party, and independents shows that protecting local culture is a priority for everyone. The broad support shown across party political divides to develop a workable solution suggests a smooth passage of the legislation through parliament in the coming weeks.
Importantly though, huge recognition has to be given to the tireless work of the Save The Cranker team. These dedicated champions were able to unite a community around a common cause and fight a creative and effective community campaign whose outcomes will go far beyond protecting not only their own venue, but venues across the state.
A major contributor to Adelaide receiving its UNESCO City of Music designation in 2015 was its commitment and innovative leadership in supporting music culture. The decision continues and strengthens Adelaide’s reputation as a global policy leader.
MORE INFO: Cranker saved from demolition under historic deal and legislation – InDaily
All photos © Paul Charles Bartlett