Fire House cabaret planners seek licence

Press, 13 July 1984, Page 5

Fire House cabaret planners seek licence

Converting the old Sydenham Fire Station into a cabaret called the Fire House would provide "a real shot in the arm” for the Christchurch music industry, a musical agency operator, Mr Neville Barrie, told a Liquor Licensing Control Commission hearing yesterday. Mr Barrie, who is also a singer and entertainer, said that there were many bands and entertainers in the area who could not get regular employment. He believed that the proposed nightclub, at 293 Colombo Street, would have a standard not now provided in the city. Mr A. E. McKee, a Christchurch businessman, owns the fire station property and has been planning a cabaret for the site since 1976. A series of planning obstacles has kept the project from going ahead, but a Planning Tribunal ruling last year cleared the way for a start. A food and entertainment licence is sought for the project’s first stage, which would provide a nightclub in the building’s first floor, with a mezzanine area above it.

Sydenham Holdings, Ltd, bought the fire station property for $48,000 in 1973 when the company had three shareholders, includ-

ing Mr McKee. Mr McKee gained control of the company in 1979, and plans for the cabaret were revived.

Latest plans for the first stage would provide seating for 177 patrons, on the first floor and mezzanine levels. Kitchen facilities would be provided on the first and ground floors.. If the nightclub is successful, future plans call for a piano bar on the ground floor, in the former fire engine bay. Mr McKee told the hearing that the first stage of the development might cost $300,000 to $350,000.

He has sought Christchurch City Council planning consent to use part of the ground floor for a plant hire service that is in business at the back of the building. An attempt by the council to designate part of the fire station property for a future works depot development was defeated by the most recent Planning Tribunal decision.

Land behind the building could now be used, after some old buildings are tom down, for 28 car-parking spaces. Mr McKee said that he and Mr J. N. Peverill, who would be the cabaret’s fulltime manager, had in-

spected nightclubs in New Zealand, the United States, and Britain. They wanted to incorporate the best features of other nightclubs, and avoid some of their pitfalls. The Fire House proposal was supported in submissions to the hearing by three Christchurch-based tour companies which said that such a cabaret could meet a tourist demand for more nightlife in the city. Applicants said that the cabaret, with a high standard of interior design and a variety of musical entertainment, could attract about 1000 patrons a week. From Mr Peverill’s inspections of other nightclubs, it seemed there was a direct link between the quality of their decor and furnishings and the type of patron who used them. The type of band and music was also a factor, he said.

Some nightclubs had deliberately emphasised courtesy and service. Sunday nights at The Fire House might be reserved for young musicians who could not otherwise break into the entertainment business. Solo and duo performers could be used during early-even-ing hours at the cabaret. Under the proposed licence, the nightclub would

open seven days a week from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. High-quality meals would be served until 2 a.m. or 2.30 a.m. A chef of a standard comparable with a good restaurant could be employed. 3oth a dinner and supper menu would be provided, with the supper available as part of the dinner menu at all times.

About 17 people would be employed at the cabaret, aside from musicians. Mr McKee said that The Fire House would have an atmosphere different from Christchurch’s three existing nightclubs, and would appeal to a wider cross-sec-tion of the community.

If the licence were granted, Christchurch would have four facilities “broadly of this type,” he said. Auckland had at least 18 of them.

The Sydenham site has no adjoining residential uses. Mr Peverill said the nightclub would have a sound system designed to suit the building and contain the sound within its limits.

The building’s substantial construction should contain the sound, but further soundproofing would be done if it was needed.

A sound system would be controlled by a master console. As manager, he would have total control of sound levels.