Fillmore's update

Published on 11 May 2023

guitar live music generic fillmores

Here at Kiama Council, we love the creative industries and are continuing to work with our community and local businesses to improve our area’s music, events, arts and culture offerings.

In fact, Council invests quite a substantial amount of ratepayers’ funds supporting arts, culture and events every single year. We know it’s important to you, so we too value it.

Many people in the community will know we have been working hard with a local operator known as Finding Fillmore’s to work through a series of compliance issues. (previous releases can be found in 'related information' on this page.)

Our responsibility as Council

Compliance issues and development assessment rules are part of the basic legislative requirements for Councils and are always a local government responsibility.

Whether you build a home or a business, or a shed in our LGA, we work with you to help get the right approvals in place to support you. We take responsibilities for compliance and development seriously and can’t ignore issues once they come to our attention.

We need to follow the law to ensure that every business in our Municipality is operating legally and safely.

Today, Kiama Council met on site with the proprietors of the Fillmore’s venue in central Kiama to share the legal advice Council has now received about conditions of consent.

The legal advice confirms that for Fillmore’s to continue to operate as it is currently operating, a Development Application (DA) is required.

We have long maintained this advice and see this as the available and required solution and our advice will not be wavering from this, a DA is required for the venue to continue to operate as is and compliance matters concerning fire safety and toilet facilities need to be urgently addressed by the operators.

Fillmore's facts

Here are the facts:

  • Fillmore’s currently has a complying development certificate (CDC) to operate as a café, issued by a private certifier.
  • The conditions of consent (see attached) for that CDC are set by the NSW Government planning policy and are prescriptive and cannot be changed by Council through resolutions. That is beyond our jurisdiction.  
  • The conditions of consent specify things such as: low noise levels to be always maintained, strict operating hours and limitations on number of patrons.
  • The ticketed amplified live music events are not included within the conditions of consent for a café and require a separate consent, with different conditions of consent. The only way to get these is to lodge a DA, like all local businesses and home builders must.
  • Development approval is required to enable Fillmore’s to operate as a live entertainment venue.
  • A development control order is a legal document that states what issues must be addressed, sets a timeframe for rectification and a process for inspecting that all issues have been addressed and completed.
  • The development control order issued to Fillmore’s on 17 February 2023 sets out a range of building and safety matters that must be addressed.
  • Likewise, Fillmore’s must operate within the bound of its current conditions of consent. If conditions / rules are broken, and complaints received, by law Council and its staff are required to act and enforce the development control order.

In short, it’s simply Council’s job to make sure the premises is operating lawfully, that patrons are safe and have equitable access and that fire safety and noise regulations are adhered to.

Sometimes the work that Council and its staff must do isn’t popular and can cause people to react both negatively and positively. We know some in our community may wrongly jump to the incorrect conclusion that Council is trying to close the business down, or that we could change the rules to suit, or perhaps ignore the rights of those who have made complaints. We want to make it plain – that is not the case.

Supporting cultural activities in our Municipality

Council and its staff are keen to help and are very supportive of the positive cultural contribution Fillmore’s makes to the town. Council will work with Filmore’s through any DA process and looks forward to seeing this next step taken up by the business owners so that the venue can continue with suitable development conditions.

Director Planning, Environment and Communities Jessica Rippon said: “We would love to see the vibrant venue that is Fillmore’s continue for many years to come, however it must do so with the appropriate approvals.”

“We are keen to work with the owners to support them through the application process and to have a venue that supports the arts and provides a safe and positive environment for the community”.

“We have provided the details of the reports and information required for the lodgement of an application to the proprietors of Fillmore’s and continue to be available to discuss requirements as needed. “

Working towards a solution

“Council has also agreed today to provide a further grace period of three weeks before the Development Control Order will be enforced, to allow Fillmore’s to work through the options and requirements that the legal advice has now confirmed.”

“This also allows Fillmore’s time to advise artists of the need for live events to cease and/or to rearrange bookings to allow for the DA process to occur.”

“It also allows for Fillmore’s to consider whether their business model could change to become more in line with a café/food business, without amplified live ticketed events, so that they meet the existing conditions of consent.”

Ms Rippon said: “We have also been speaking regularly with the complainants, as we want to make sure everyone affected is included in finding a solution to the challenges of providing live music at this site.”

“There is a solution to this issue, and that is lodging a DA and working through the process required to support Finding Fillmore’s be the best live music venue that it can be”.