Some of Byron Bay’s late-night venues have agreed to an earlier or staged lockout during next weekend’s three-day Splendour in the Grass festival in a bid to help police combat alcohol-fuelled violence in the town.
More than 15,000 young people are expected to attend the festival each day at Belongil Fields and police had asked the town’s Liquor Accord for an earlier than 2am lockout as festival goers and revellers flood the town after midnight.
The accord initially rejected the plan, claiming it would move the problem elsewhere but this week it proposed to police a staged lockout.
Some hotels will now bar entry from midnight or 1.30am and the clubs will remain open till their usual 2am.
Tweed-Byron police Inspector Stuart Wilkins told media the festival weekend was always busy for police and he appreciated the accord’s co-operation on the issue.
Superintendent Wilkins said he appreciated the accord had come back with a compromise position and ‘put in place strategies to reduce the consumption of alcohol over that weekend’.
He said the staged lockout process had the potential to work.
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