Manly venues push for late trading as police float user-pays patrols
Manly’s hospitality operators are keen to trade later, but local police have cautioned that extended hours could mean extra patrols and that venues should help pay for them.
Northern Beaches Police Area Command has warned that a proposed “special entertainment precinct” for Manly may stretch resources as officers respond to late-night antisocial behaviour. The precinct forms part of New South Wales government vibrancy reforms designed to cut red tape so venues can trade later and host more live music. Similar precincts are on the way for several Sydney hubs — from Cronulla to Canley Vale and Hornsby — as well as regional centres including Byron Bay.
In feedback to Northern Beaches Council, which is leading the Manly plan, police floated a “user-pays model” to cover the cost of additional patrols, mirroring the approach used at large music festivals where organisers fund police presence to manage alcohol and drug risks.
That idea has landed poorly with some locals. Banco owner Kurtis Bosley said piling new costs onto venues would blunt the intent of the reforms, pointing to recent closures such as Manly Boatshed and Sake Restaurant & Bar at Manly Wharf. “If bars and hotels are having to pay more for fees for policing [the reforms] will never take off because the venues will say it’s just too hard and too expensive,” he told the SMH. “Half the venues have closed down in Manly in the last couple of years because the cost of running and operating hospitality is just too hard, and we don’t have any additional funds to put towards anything other than covering our overheads and making sure our staff are paid.”
Australian Hotels Association director of liquor and policing John Green noted venues “already pay significant taxes, levies and licence fees” and added that extra policing costs “should not be borne by licensed premises”.
Safety remains central to the debate. The council’s 2022 night-time strategy said Manly had “improved” since the early 2000s, but hotspots persist around The Corso and East Esplanade. In January, about 40 youths were involved in a brawl at Manly Wharf, and in the 12 months to March there were 25 assaults at licensed venues, 12 disorderly conduct incidents and three drug offences in licensed premises, according to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
Other operators see upside. Anna Pavoni, owner of 55 North by Cibaria, argued later hours could improve amenity: “The fact that the council is considering putting Manly as a special entertainment precinct highlights the work that’s been done to overhaul the culture in Manly,” she said, adding later opening “would mean fewer people would be out in public drinking on the beach”. “It would give somewhere for people to go at night,” she said.
A year-long trial is slated to start in mid-2026 with council monitoring. NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham said special entertainment precincts “are all about cutting costs and shredding red tape to allow business and activity to thrive at night, not to add more costs to doing business”, noting data from Enmore Road shows alcohol-related assaults fell.
NSW Police would not confirm whether other commands have proposed user-pays arrangements.
Jonathan Jackson, 25th September 2025
