Open space thrown open for hospitality, but operators not rejoicing

The planning exemptions will apply for 12 months after Victoria ceases to be in a state of emergency.

The government acknowledged in rules released on Wednesday that there was "a risk of community amenity impacts from enabling outdoor dining and expansion of existing hospitality businesses onto adjoining land without a permit". But the benefits outweighed this risk, it said.

Restaurants can currently serve only takeaway, but from November 2 will be allowed to open with 10 people per indoor space, and up to 50 outdoors provided they have ample space. Premier Daniel Andrews has hinted that date could be brought forward to next week if daily case numbers stay low.

Many restaurants, preparing to reopen, have already tried applying through their council – only to be thwarted by local rules.

Jason Stepsys manages Richmond Middle Eastern restaurant Feast of Merit. He applied to his local council to extend his footpath trading and was told by Yarra Council that, for traffic and pedestrian safety reasons, he could not.

“I wasn’t asking for 20 tables, I was asking for three tables,” he said. “We just gave up. It was demoralising.”

He predicted Mr Wynne’s announcement would ultimately just fall back to the council to oversee, and would make no difference to the end result.

“I think it will just be, like most things the state has announced for hospitality, it’s something they say to sound good and the reality will be a joke.”

The Premier said moving to more drinking and dining “has the potential to change our city and our state for the better”. And Mr Wynne said he hoped removing planning rules would make operating safely “as easy as possible”.

The opposition criticised the move. “Grog, people and cars — dangerous mixture at the best of times. This hasn’t been thought through,” opposition planning spokesman Tim Smith said.

He said the changes were “a great sound bite”, but would make little difference to restaurant owners, who wanted to be able to open up inside their venues, not outside. “They can reopen indoors in a COVID-safe way. But they can’t make any money with majority outdoor dining,” he said.

Planners cautiously welcomed Mr Wynne’s changes.

“It’s a good idea,” urban designer Andy Fergus said. "The risks are whether there will be competing interests for public space. Will it increase the use of public space, or take away the existing public use?”

Mr Fergus said the change would not take away the ability for councils to enforce local laws, meaning important safety rules would be upheld — and these existed for a reason. “Street cleaners, waste or fire services, they’re really important. And keeping people safe from vehicles.”

And he welcomed the ability for private functions like hospitality to add to public space, pointing to a cafe in North Fitzroy called Green Park, which is next to a children’s playground. “That private business sitting next to the park unambiguously brings public life to the park,” Mr Fergus said.

But he said it was important to balance the needs of private operators with the easy enjoyment of public space.

The Planning Institute’s Victorian division president, Gareth Hately, also said planners were generally supportive of the move.

“If we want to be able to dine in public in a COVID-safe way, this is important but it’s also important to note that they are temporary laws.”

And he said the changes would not remove the need to comply with local council by-laws.

“There are still local law requirements that will all still need to be gone through.”

Chris Lucas, the operator of a major restaurant group, said the move was “trying to resolve an outdoor dining policy thought of in a hurry but they haven’t thought it through; you can’t just announce outdoor dining is the best thing because there are so many variables like public liability and safety and emergency access”.

Maz Salt runs bars including outdoor laneway bar Section 8 and the B.East restaurant in Brunswick East. He said while the announcement appeared welcome news, for most venue operators it would be too little, too late.

“As someone who has owned an outdoor space in Melbourne for 16 years, the weather, it’s an issue — not just rain, it’s the wind and the dirt and the grime, and where do you store all your stuff when you close if you do have a massive outdoor area at your disposal.”

He welcomed the change to the planning system, but said part of the problem was that they were being made “only bit over a week before we open”.