Kiama’s annual Winter Festival encourages the community enjoy the town after dark. Photo: Kiama Municipal Council.
Kiama is exploring ways to enliven the town once the sun goes down and needs the community’s help to create more vibrant and enjoyable experiences after dark.
An investigation of the town’s existing nightlife is the first step in improving it and Kiama Council want to hear from residents.
The engagement process for Kiama After Dark is under way with feedback being sought on how vibrant the Kiama LGA feels after dark today, when types of after-dark activity feel most appropriate, which places are best suited to evening or night-time activity, what types of experiences people value and where gaps may exist and how safety, amenity, noise, accessibility and transport affect participation.
Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald said the town’s after-dark scene already included passionate operators and much-loved local venues.
“Through Kiama After Dark, we’d like to understand how our existing strengths can be supported and where there may be opportunities to grow or improve, in ways that suit our community,” he said.
The consultation will inform the development of the Night-Time Economy Strategy which aims to support local businesses and activities, encourage appropriate evening and night-time use across different areas, balance vibrancy with safety, wellbeing and residential amenity and ensure after-dark activity reflects Kiama’s distinctive village character.
Increasing the opportunities for the LGA into the night has been a long fought priority for now Kiama MP Katelin McInerney who, months before she won the seat, created a petition to urge the council to create a Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP) which garnered hundreds of supporters.
During the byelection lead up, Kiama received a $200,000 funding boost from the NSW Government to create the strategy which will include consultation into establishing an SEP, a designated cultural zone to allow longer trading hours, live entertainment, outdoor dining, pop-up cultural events and more generous sound limits.
The current consultation includes the consideration of a 12-month trial of a SEP in an area of the town centre from January 2027.
With community and business input vital in informing decisions about the precinct and the strategy, council will hold a business workshop on Monday 20 April at The Pavilion Kiama.
Further information, an initial survey and platform to share ideas on the strategy is available on the Your Say Kiama website.
Consultation is open until 3 May.
