Few could imagine Sydney’s harbour being without its iconic mainstay Luna Park, but its owners are now saying the park us under a dark cloud of uncertainty following a “terrible” court decision.
As News.com.au reports, the Land and Environment Court has ruled that the park would not be allowed to install a new ride, the “Flying Carousel”, without development approval, meaning that the park will now have to submit a new application every time it wishes to install a new ride, or even move an existing one.
Of course, this would mean a constant stream of opportunities for complaints about noise, traffic and more from nearby residents, leaving the park to stagnate under a pile of objections.
“We are deeply disappointed by this decision, which places a big question mark over the long-term viability of one of Sydney’s best-known and most-loved destinations,” managing director Peter Hearne has told Fairfax. “This is a terrible outcome not just for Luna Park but for Sydney.”
The objections follow the 2017 promise of a $20 million investment in the park, bringing with it six brand new rides and a host of upgrades to existing favourites, but now the first of those has already hit this enormous snag.
“The works cannot be demonstrated as not inconsistent with the development consents as it was unclear whether the development consents authorise the installation of new rides,” Luna Park’s management was told at the time, leading them to take NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts to court over the decision, only to be left disappointed by this landmark result.
With the park now beholden to the whims of the surrounding residents, we’ll have to wait and see how seriously the owners’ concerns about the park’s future need to be taken, but when they’re publicly questioning its “viability” after a bitter defeat in court, Luna Park’s future seems to hang in the balance.
‘Winterfest’ finishes up at Luna Park today – will it be back next year?
