ARQ Sydney has been approved by council to allow its patrons to enter neighbouring (but still closed) sex-on-premises venue Bodyline via an internal passageway dubbed the “tunnel of love” by club insiders.
The $125,000 proposal to connect the two premises for patrons – submitted to the City of Sydney on October 13 last year – was made public on August 24 when the City of Sydney published its approval of the project.
GSN first reported plans to internally connect the venues on January 7.
According to approved council planning documents, ARQ patrons will be allowed to enter Bodyline via an internal door and courtyard. However, Bodyline patrons will not be allowed to enter ARQ via the door unless they originally entered Bodyline via ARQ’s front entrance.
This means that if you entered ARQ and then went to Bodyline, you’d be permitted back into ARQ via the door. But if you entered Bodyline via its own entrance, you can’t enter ARQ via the internal door. Instead, you’d need to enter via ARQ’s front door.
Conditions attached to the approval of the project include that no alcohol is permitted to be transferred between premises (Bodyline does not hold a liquor licence); a licensed security guard must be stationed at the door at all times (to check for intoxication, monitor safety, and monitor accurate patron numbers); and signage must be installed showing that the door is not a fire egress path (i.e. it is not a fire exit).
Bodyline must also comply with a “plan of management” that has been approved by the council.
City of Sydney planning documents show the council's “Safe City” team held initial concerns regarding safety and how the monitoring of patrons was to be controlled, but considered the proposal “supportable in principle” subject to the plan of management being submitted addressing its concerns.
The application was referred to NSW Police for comment, City of Sydney planning documents show, and no response was received. ARQ told GSN it had “no comment… for now”.
In recommending approval of the project, the City of Sydney’s specialist planner James Cooper said the proposed connection between both premises “will not result in any adverse impacts on both the natural and built environment and the locality, is suitable for the site, and is in the public interest, subject to appropriate conditions of consent being imposed”.
Sources close to Bodyline and ARQ said the passageway would be renovated and new lighting installed.
Bodyline has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It was expected to re-open at the same time as ARQ in December. Instead, the venue has remained closed with no firm date for relaunch.
ARQ is able to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bodyline has approval to operate 12pm until 7am Monday to Friday and stay open 24 hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
Ben Grubb is the founder and editor of Gay Sydney News, an independent publication covering LGBTQIA+ news. A journalist with more than 15 years' experience, he has reported and edited for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAToday, Brisbane Times, The Australian Financial Review, News.com.au, ZDNet, TelecomTimes and iTnews, primarily on the topic of technology. He previously hosted The Informer, a queer current affairs program on Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 radio station, and contributes to LGBTQIA+ media including Stun Magazine. Ben has also appeared as a technology commentator on Channel Ten's The Project, ABC RN’s Download This Show and commercial radio stations 2UE, 2GB and 6PR. Contact Ben: [email protected]
