Fringe venue the Royal Croquet Club is facing some new challenges following an Adelaide City Council motion to impose restrictions on the popular open-air, multi-stage precinct for its 2016 return.

The council’s Economic and Community Development Committee passed the motion on Tuesday to push for a series of new conditions including 1am weekend closing times, increased general public access and a ban on loud music after 12am. Moved by Councillor Alex Antic, the motion was passed by eight votes to three.

“Essentially our acting CEO was given some parameters to negotiate with the operators – they were essentially four or five points,” Antic told Rip It Up. “[They request] the overall look, the amenity be substantially improved, trading hours on Friday and Saturday be taken back, and that there should be greater access to the public if possible.”

The conditions may further complicate existing talks to reach an agreement for future festivals at the site, with the move already drawing criticism from Club operators. Curiously, the motion focusses on the Victoria Square site while leaving East End Fringe hubs like Gluttony and the Garden of Unearthly Delights unmentioned, leaving Royal Croquet Club reluctant to embrace changes that specifically target just them. “It would be really unfair to single out one event,” co-director Tom Skipper told The Advertiser.

Antic disagrees that the measure unfairly targets the Royal Croquet Club however, stating it merely serves as a stopgap solution while a long-term management strategy for the Council’s outdoor spaces is developed.

“It’s not unique to the Croquet Club,” Antic says. “We have a longer term strategy for a review of all the facilities that use the parklands and event spaces, this was driven mainly by concerns about the use of the new square. It’s an event space, $27 million was spent on the design and build and we didn’t have a clear policy position as to how we’d use it. We’ve taken a position we think is quite reasonable as an interim measure to ameliorate some of the concerns that have been raised before the next festival season.”

The venue has become the focus of continued controversy since its 2014 debut, drawing sustained criticism from other late night traders around the city and accusations of unfairly drawing business away from year-round ventures during the peak Fringe period. The issue became a regular topic of discussion during last year’s Council election with publican and candidate Gareth Lewis frequently weighing in and current Lord Mayor Martin Haese expressing concerns that such venues “take the cream off the cake”.

In response the venue worked with nearby businesses in the lead up to its 2015 run, agreeing to wind back their hours to close at 2am on Saturdays and 1am throughout the week, while dramatically beefing up their program of Fringe acts and shows from 184 to 518.

Royal Croquet Club in full swing at this year’s Adelaide Fringe

Despite those efforts, outrage continued to flow this year when the Council footed half of the $93,000 repair bill for Victoria Square’s grass following this year’s Fringe and Tour Down Under. Described by Haese as “scorched earth”, blame for the damage was often fingered at RCC despite Council clarifying that the visually striking damage was partly due to issues with the turf’s original installation.

Councillor Robert Simms was one of three to vote against the motion, voicing concerns the decision sends a potentially stifling message. “I’m concerned we’ve just thrown a bucket of water over innovation,” Councillor Simms explains. “What does it mean for [Fringe] shows after midnight? Obviously Victoria Square is a key civic space and we need to ensure it’s open and accessible to the community, but at the same time, I don’t want Adelaide to look like wowsers.”

Councillor Antic seems all-too-aware of the perils of being labelled a member of the “fun police”, but stresses his motion aims to ensure the whole city benefits from the Victoria Square facilities. “I do want to see that square being used for these sort of events, there’s no attempt to push anyone out or anything like that,” he says. “It’s just a question of getting the balance right.”

That push for greater “balance” echoes many of the continuing criticisms of the Croquet Club by its bricks-and-mortar competitors, and it’s hard not to see this as a potential win for the Fringe venue’s detractors.

With the decision set to be revisited at the next full council meeting on June 30 it remains to be seen what the final result of the negotiations will be. One way or another, the ongoing saga continues to be the most interesting Croquet-related story since… well, ever.

Update 1/7

A decision on the future of the Royal Croquet Club has been delayed for another fortnight by Adelaide City Council. The final decision on the RCC’s 2016 trading hours will be made at the next council meeting on July 14.

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Photograph:

Kristy DeLaine / AK Photography