Project background
What is the Night-time Economy?
The night-time economy (NTE) includes restaurants, bars, theatres, markets, festivals, live music venues, retail, and creative spaces operating between 6:00pm and 6:00am. Ku-ring-gai's focus is primarily on early evening through to midnight activities.
Why it matters
A thriving NTE boosts local business, creates jobs, and provides cultural and social opportunities for our community.
Why the Action Plan is important
With Ku-ring-gai's community expected to grow significantly over the next 15 years, demand for quality evening dining, entertainment, retail, and services will likely increase substantially. To ensure the opportunities are effectively managed and deliver maximum benefits, we are developing a Night-time Economy Action Plan.
What is driving opportunities for the NTE
- Population growth: New residents need nearby restaurants, bars, retail, and entertainment—creating new commercial opportunities.
- Consumer spending: Businesses operating later in the day have the opportunity to tap into additional consumer spend, which currently is being spent elsewhere.
- Employment: Extended hours create jobs across hospitality, retail, and creative industries—building local workforce capacity.
Learning from success stories
Businesses in local government areas where a strategic night-time economy plan in place have reported a range of benefits.
- Inner West Council: Local venues accessed NSW Government funding through the Uptown Grant Program, with participating businesses reporting 30-50% revenue increases from extended trading hours.
- Canterbury-Bankstown: The Council’s Night-time Economy Action Plan attracted State Government investment in precinct activation, resulting in new business openings and increased foot traffic for existing operators.
- City of Parramatta: Strategic precinct development led to a 40% increase in evening employment and significant growth in hospitality and entertainment sector revenues.
Addressing your business challenges
A key part of action plan will be to identify and address barriers that limit business growth in areas such as:
- Regulations – licensing, approvals and compliance.
- Infrastructure – parking, lighting, transport, and pedestrian access to increase customer accessibility and safety.
- Marketing support – exploring need, appetite and opportunities for promotional campaigns and events that drive foot traffic and raise awareness.
- Collaboration – exploring opportunities to facilitating partnerships between businesses.
