Residents opposed to Port Quays tavern proposal

The tavern would be on the ground floor of a three-storey canal-side building earlier approved for a restaurant.

An application before the City of Mandurah now seeks to change the land use from restaurant to tavern so a subsequent tavern liquor licence application can be made to the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor.

But some residents claim the council is changing the rules and forcing the tavern on them.

One couple said they would be happy with a restaurant but had a number of concerns about a tavern.

They said excess noise from the maximum 140 patrons would be unbearable and travel clearly across water to surrounding homes.

They said patrons could throw unwanted food in the water, attracting squawking gulls that would cover the public access way below the tavern with excrement that would be trekked into nearby homes.

The stench of a possible microbrewery on the premises and children having to walk past the tavern balcony on their way to the beach were a worry and truck deliveries to a bottle shop in the same building already blocked the road and held up traffic were other contentious issues.

There was no parking for a tavern, apart from a small car- park usually packed by visitors.

“We have had six or seven months of stress and we need an answer from the council,’’ they said.

Another resident believed the tavern would attract the wrong type of patron that would be in keeping with the neighbourhood.

“Already there is a liquor outlet operating under the same roof – how much can the local populace consume?” he said. “I am concerned about increased noise, as the basin in front of the building is like an amphitheatre.”

He was also worried about increasing boating traffic to the detriment of children using the waterway as a playground, particularly when patrons left in their boats after a session.