Residents of one of Sydney’s most upmarket suburbs want to stop a much-loved Christmas event due to noise pollution and possible damage to their local park.
Organizers have been shocked by community opposition to a Christmas market planned for November 30 in Double Bay in the city’s east.
A group of residents have objected to the free event taking place in Steyne Park, claiming it would create litter, cause traffic chaos and ’cause a loss of peace’.
The family-friendly event includes carols, face painting, busker music, festive stalls, children’s rides and fireworks in the early evening. The Daily Telegraph reported.
The fate of the event now rests in the hands of Woollahra Council, which will make a decision this week.
All but two of the fourteen entries submitted so far are in favor of canceling the event.
Anthony Tregoning is among those concerned about the impact on the area.
“There is probably damage to the grass, which will take a long time to repair,” he told the newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
A group of residents in the affluent Sydney suburb of Double Bay have objected to a family-friendly fair taking place in late November due to damage to the grass and potential noise (Double Bay Christmas Fair photo from last year)
The fair (pictured earlier) offers stalls, music, children’s attractions and fireworks
“Amplified music and announcements would disturb residents in surrounding streets and areas as far as Edgecliff and Bellevue Hill,” he said.
Katherine Grinberg, president of the Double Bay Residents Association, fears the event could set a “precedent for other organizations to apply to use the park.”
Event organizers The Bay Street Initiative said the fair is not a “large-scale” music festival or nightclub – and expected a maximum of 5,000 people.
‘It starts at 11am and ends at 8pm. There will be some live music, but it won’t last late into the evening and won’t affect people’s sleep,” a spokeswoman said.
She said the fair would be a positive event for the area and not a “raw” event.
Another organizer, John Keenan, said the plan would alleviate noise and parking problems.
He added that the event took place in the area before Covid and was popular with locals.
Organizers are baffled that some residents have opposed their plan – saying it will not be a ‘raucous’ event and a maximum of 5,000 people will attend during opening hours of 11am to 8pm (photo from a previous Double Bay Christmas Fair )
The event already has the vote of Woollahra Mayor Sarah Swan, who ‘wholeheartedly’ supported the fair.
The mayor said young families are always looking for activities and was “willing” to accept the one-day event because it could hear “the sound of children laughing.”
Many other residents agreed and believed the event was important to their community.
“The grass will grow back,” someone commented.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Woollahra Council for comment.