The Depot

27/01/2014

We want to give prominence to The Lord Mayor's response to our most recent post and to the discussion that followed. Stephen Yarwood commented as follows:

"It is certainly sad but how local government must work. As Lord Mayor I am a massive fan and huge supporter of the work the Depot team have done.

Please look at it from our perspective... It would be bordering on corruption to hand over the site to one group without a fair and transparent tender process that gives everyone a chance.

Government cannot work that way, and when it does the media tears us apart! Please think about our legal responsibilities to be fair...

I am truly grateful for the efforts that boys have made towards 'new Adelaide' and certainly hope they put in a corker of a proposal!"

The Lord Mayor has indeed been a very enthusiastic supporter and facilitator of The Depot. We have in fact dealt with many competent and committed people at the ACC. We realise that a project like The Depot takes a lot of work from Council's perspective and we have greatly appreciated the work by, and the support of, many committed ACC elected and staff members.

However, our primary issue remains that the EOI process was not even mentioned until some 16 months after we first lodged our interest in using The Depot site, a site that had been an urban wasteland for many years. Nobody else showed any interest in making something of it then. If the ACC had decided to engage in an EOI process from the outset, we would have had no arguments with them about this. But not now, and not the way it was done.

We acknowledge that the Council has a different view, and we thought it appropriate to ensure you heard it.

On a brighter note, we believe that there are in fact positive changes afoot in Adelaide and we applaud the ACC for being a big driver of this.

We now won't bother you anymore!

The Depot Team

25/01/2014

Hi to all of the wonderful supporters of The Depot. We are sorry to be the bearers of bad news.

Unfortunately, the Depot won't be open this Fringe because the Adelaide City Council has decided to run an expression of interest process to determine if anybody else wants to use The Depot site.

See below for the full story, if you are interested.

Thank you all, supporters, sponsors, suppliers and The Depot team for your enthusiasm and support in 2013.

Hopefully, the Council will complete the EOI process early in 2014. Keep an eye out for 2015.

Happy Fringing
"The Depot"

THE DEPOT STORY 2014

In July 2012, we provided the Adelaide City Council with a proposal to establish a year-round, ‘long-term’ entertainment venue on the old Franklin Street Bus Station site. ‘Long-term’ meant for as long as Council did not need the site for another purpose.

Discussions with Council progressed slowly. As a result, we were running out of time to be ready for Fringe 2013. We therefore applied to Council to occupy the site during the 2013 Fringe under the Splash Adelaide programme. This application was successful. However, we made it clear to Council that we were not giving up on our desire for the longer term use of the site. Everyone agreed that Council would be in a much better position after Fringe 2013 to determine whether our longer term aspirations were acceptable to Council.

So, after what we believe was a successful Fringe 2013, we renewed our longer term application in March 2013.

Between March and August 2013, we approached Council on numerous occasions to determine how our longer term application was progressing. Suffice to say that we did not get any real answers until 14 August 2013, when we were advised by a third party that Council had the previous night passed a resolution to initiate an expression of interest process for the future use of the site. This was confirmed at our meeting with Council on 17 September 2013. At that meeting, we were told that the EOI process related to a period after Fringe 2014. We were asked if we wanted to use the site for the 2014 Fringe.

We considered our position carefully and eventually told Council that we could not operate The Depot on the same basis and scale as we did last year as a once-off for the 2014 Fringe. Many reasons, but basically it was too late, too hard and too risky. We particularly did not want to risk so much when someone else may step in after Fringe 2014 and reap the longer term benefits. Frankly, if we had known about the expression of interest process 15 months earlier, we simply would not have even undertaken Fringe 2013.

However, we did indicate to Council that we might be able to undertake a smaller, more focused event adjacent to The Depot site, and we put in an application under Splash in this regard on 6 December 2013. Unfortunately, having heard nothing from Council about the progress of our application one month later, we had to also pull the plug on this application on 6 January 2014.

We have now been told by Council to remove everything off site by the end of February 2014. We are grateful to Council for giving us plenty of time to do so, but it is still going to hurt to see the last signs of The Depot disappear and the site return to an urban wasteland.

We would like to acknowledge the assistance, energy, input, dedication and patience of all of the staff, suppliers, supporters and friends of The Depot. We also acknowledge the assistance of the SA Government through the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure who streamlined the necessary governmental approval processes for us. We also recognise the great assistance of those at the Adelaide City Council who are able to see the value of council assets not only in dollars and cents terms, but also in terms of the enjoyment that they can bring to the people of Adelaide when activated to that end. And, of course, we thank you, our patrons, who supported us so well, so enthusiastically and so often and who voted The Depot to the People’s Choice Award In the City of Adelaide Awards. We hope to see you next year.

28/06/2013

Hi all. Just a quick update on the position with The Depot. We are in the process of gaining all of the necessary approvals to start up again. The currently plan is to start in October/November with some special re-opening events and then to continue with Sunday Markets, private functions (happy if you want to register your interest) and one-off events over summer. We are also putting together an outline for the 2014 Fringe which looks pretty exciting. But first things first ... the approvals! We can't take them for granted, so fingers crossed.

14/06/2013

The Depot wins The City of Adelaide 'People's Choice' Award 2013! Thank you Depot fans for your support!

06/06/2013

The first Fork on the Road seems like forever ago!!!

Only 36 hours left to vote for The City of Adelaide Prize 'People's Choice Award'

Get Voting People!

http://voice.architecture.com.au/?page_id=2519

Brought to you by http://www.southaustralia.com South Australia through the eyes of local film makers, Tim Standing and Adam Forte from Daylight Breaks. Get ...

04/06/2013

Thank you Fork Fans!

04/06/2013

The City of Adelaide Prize recognises and awards innovative built projects including public art and temporary contributions to public space that activate and enliven the City’s public spaces and engage with the community.

This year there are 4 nominees for the Prize one of which is the Splash Adelaide project ‘The Depot’

The Depot was a major pop-up installation and venue built primarily for the 2013 Adelaide Fringe Festival at the former Adelaide Bus Station. Over 50,000 people visited The Depot which hosted a range of events including Fork on the Road.

The public of SA are invited to vote for their favourite with the winner to receive the People’s Choice Award.

Voting closes this Friday, so visit the link below and vote for your favourite... The Depot!

http://voice.architecture.com.au/?page_id=2519

10/04/2013

Good Afternoon Depot Fans!

Due to a number of factors, The Depot team has decided to not continue to operate during April. We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause (we are disappointed too!)

On a brighter note, the Fringe period was a great success for The Depot and we are looking forward to building on this success in the future. We hope to return for the 2014 Fringe and discussions with Council and Adelaide Fringe are already underway. Stay tuned to our page for developments.

We can't thank you all enough for your ongoing support and patronage over the past few months!

We would also like to once again thank the City of Adelaide Council, the Splash Adelaide team, the SA Government, the Adelaide Fringe and all of our wonderful suppliers, staff and helpers for all of their fantastic support.

The Depot Team

07/04/2013

Good Morning Adelaide! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and The Depot is launching its Sunday Markets from Midday!

The Thrift Shop takes over as The Depot is converted into an eclectic market place hosting stallholders a plenty selling their unique wares.

Chimichurri Grill will be cooking up a storm if you are feeling a little peckish, Bar 9 - Specialist Coffee Boutique have your caffeine requirements covered and for the sweet tooth you can't go past Yiayia's Greek Sweets!

From 3pm the Container stage will host some of Adelaide's finest young musicians (Weekday Wolves & 50 In The City) and the bar will be serving refreshments all day including $20 Sangria Jugs!

If you are interested in being a stall holder at our Sunday markets be sure to visit today and speak to Cassandra at Thrift Shop or email us [email protected]

06/04/2013

Come celebrate the re-opening of The Depot this Saturday Night!

What better way to start 'Aftermarth April' than with a sneaky drink or two, whilst basking in The Depot's good time atmosphere.

We'll have Live Music from Delia Obst, Banjo Jackson & Jimmy Meegan with the House Cats on the Decks as well as our resident retailer 'Thrift Shop' back in business along with some new friends in our expanded Retail zone!

We've got Pints of Super Dry for $6 and Pints of Orchard Crush Cider, Bottles of Corona/Heineken and Base Spirits for $7!

If you are in the sharing type of mood, perhaps a Jug of Sangria for $20 will tickle your fancy?

Join us at The Depot this Saturday night!

Image: Sam Noonan 2013

04/04/2013

The Depot is excited to announce our new Sunday Markets!

Every Sunday from Midday, The Depot will become an eclectic marketplace, hosting stallholders a plenty selling their unique wares. Fashion, Jewelery, Art, Food, Homewares, Nick-Nacks and Paddywacks will all be on offer from upcoming marketeers and your old favourites.

Spend the day browsing the stalls, listening to tunes, enjoying a bite to eat from one of our delicious food vendors and a few drinks from the bar. There's no better way to spend a Sunday!

Are you a marketeer or stallholder wanting to showcase and sell your wares over the next 4 Sundays at The Depot? Then we want to hear from you as spots are filling up fast! Drop in this Sunday and speak to Cassandra at Thrift Shop, or send us an email at [email protected]

04/04/2013

Thank The Depot It's Friday!

We are back to do it all again and want you to help us celebrate our extended stay.

To kick it off we'll have Live Music (Timberwolf & Dom Symes) and DJ's (House Cats) throughout the night as well as our resident retailer Thrift Shop back in business along with some new friends in our expanded Retail zone!

At the bar we have Pints of Super Dry and Orchard Crush Cider for $6 and Bottles of Corona, Heineken and Base Spirits for $7 ALL NIGHT!

Or perhaps if you are in a sharing mood, a Jug of Sangria for $20 might hit the spot?

If you want a more laid back start for the weekend, we also have Bar 9 - Specialist Coffee Boutique & Yiayia's Greek Sweets serving up the finest coffee and sweet treats!

The Depot is Back so join us for a sneaky afterwork frothy (or laté) and let the good times roll!