Iconic floating ATET rave club in Melbourne Docklands on the Yarra is closing: DJs outraged
Popular European-style floating Melbourne rave club is closing following city council decision – and there are no prizes for guessing why: ‘Disgraceful’
- NIMBY residents manage to shut down the Euro-style club
- Club had also been the target of an arson attack
- Given only four days to close
- Do you know more? Contact person: lucy.manly@mailonline.com
Australia’s top DJs are backing a popular European-style floating nightclub after Melbourne City Council revoked its permit over noise complaints from local residents.
A 570-square-metre club on a barge, home to Docklands’ ATET nightclub, has had the council’s use of its Crown land permit terminated just eight months after its launch.
Site owner Jake Hughes, who spent $2 million outfitting the vessel, received a letter of termination from Acting Board CEO Alison Leighton by email Friday and was ordered to stop working by Thursday.
Venue visitors and a number of celebrity DJs, including Sunshine Dj and Blondie Official, have expressed their support for a online petition called #SaveATET.
The petition has so far received 4,724 signatures and supporters labeled the council’s decision a “disgrace”.
The club had quickly become a hotspot for music lovers and exuded the atmosphere of European day parties
Atet nightclub says the City of Melbourne revoked their Crown land permit on Friday, forcing the open-air venue to close its doors
Hughes says he has worked closely with the council over the past three years to ensure compliance to secure a permit for his $2 million European-inspired dayclub venue.
“Just 24 hours prior to the notification, we submitted a detailed proposal to the municipality in which we positively responded to each of the council’s concerns, including compliance with EPA (Environment Protection Authority) noise regulations.” he posted in the nightclub official Instagram account.
“We have always taken all necessary steps to fully comply with EPA regulations and have followed all instructions from the municipality in this regard.”
“We feel an incredible sense of injustice, not only because of the outcome, but also because of the process we went through.”
The venue got off to a controversial start in November last year when it received a series of noise complaints from Docklands residents.
Last month, the board voted to grant a default on the club’s building permit after an EPA investigation found the venue had consistently exceeded reasonable noise levels.
The unique location only opened its doors eight months ago and has now been forced to close
Residents of nearby apartment complexes filed noise complaints, but owner Jake Hughes said the concerns were allayed in the following months
The floating nightclub in has closed less than a year after it opened to controversy and survived an arson attack
ATET has been operating at background noise levels for the past month and operates Friday through Sunday, closing at 1am.
“We have been working with a sound limiter that limits volume to levels approved and endorsed by the Council, after being reviewed by their own independent acoustics consultant,” said Mr Hughes.
“The Board has consistently led us to believe that we were fully compliant and this has been repeatedly confirmed in public.”
The site had previously received support from the City of Melbourne and Development Victoria, including Melbourne Mayor Sally Capp, who had defended the site on a number of occasions.
“It brings life and energy to that area and really speaks to what’s going to happen in that part of Docklands for years to come,” she told Nine News ahead of our August 2022 launch.
The closure is the latest blow to the company after it was hit by an unprovoked arson attack in January.
The suspicious fire partially damaged the ship and temporarily closed it, before reopening it two weeks later.
The City of Melbourne has been contacted for comment