Separately, VCAT will also decide on C&R Building’s application for a 57-apartment development after the City of Yarra failed to grant a permit to approve construction. The council indicated at the VCAT hearing that it was likely to oppose the application as the development’s lack of proposed soundproofing measures could compromise the viability of the Night Cat.
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Stanford said he would continue trading with lower noise levels until upgrades could take place.
“In the past, we’ve worked with developers to get a result that’s made everybody happy, but it’s a bit of a different situation this time,” he said.
Stanford said that in addition to more soundproofing, he needed to install sound monitoring equipment and hire expert acousticians to prove he was compliant. If the money could be found, he said, the upgrades would protect the venue from complaints from any and all future developments nearby.
“The thing is with soundproofing, you do it and then you find out what the result is, then you do a bit more and find out the result of that,” he said.
“It’s not like you can accurately predict how much sound escapes from the building until you’ve done the soundproofing. I’ve done just about everything you can do [to soundproof the venue], but there are still some gaps at the back of the building, so I think if we block up all of those and we get our measurements right we will be safe.”
In Victoria, noise restrictions are policed by the Environment Protection Authority, and these limits become stricter after 11pm each night apart from Sundays, when the time is 10pm.
While Stanford said he was still filling his venue, it wasn’t enough to pay for the necessary upgrades without crowdfunding.
“It’s a marginal business. I absolutely love it, but it has been a particularly difficult time,” he said. “We had COVID, we were closed for a year and then we had to pay back all of that rent. I’m still paying back that rent … and then there was a cost-of-living crisis.”
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Yarra Mayor Stephen Jolly threw his support behind the Night Cat, which he said should be protected by the state government’s “agent of change” principle. The planning rule was introduced in 2014 and requires developers to include appropriate “noise attenuation measures” if they are within 50 metres of a live music venue.
“They haven’t even moved in yet and he’s under threat,” he said. “This is not about noise. This is about getting rid of him. Justin is very well liked and loved and everyone’s really shocked about this.”
There are several other mid-rise apartments proposed for Fitzroy. City of Yarra has approved about 1450 homes between Wellington and Brunswick streets in the past decade.
The Night Cat is on Johnston Street, a strip famous for its sticky-carpet live music venues, some of which have faced issues with noise complaints and other planning issues.
Famously, the proposed closure of the Tote Hotel in 2010 over liquor licensing regulations led to a save-live-music rally in the city that prompted a change in the laws.
In 2023, the owners of the Last Chance Rock and Roll Bar in the CBD raised $3 million to help them buy the hotel. Last month, a year-long inquiry into Australia’s live music venues handed down its final report.
The committee made 20 recommendations, among them that the federal government add a small levy to the price of tickets to large music events and direct the funds raised to support for small venues and grassroots live music.
Music Victoria CEO Fiona Duncan said the issue the Night Cat faces highlighted broader issues facing Melbourne’s live music scene. “Independent venues are particularly vulnerable to rising compliance costs and pressures from gentrification,” she said.
The planning lawyers for C&R Building, who filed the VCAT case, were contacted for comment but did not respond.
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