Pop-up Fringe venue Ensalada moved to Rymill Park after Adelaide City Council bungle THE Adelaide City Council has back-tracked on its approval of a major pop-up Fringe venue in the city, on the eve of the Fringe. The City Council said it made a mistake in approving the Ensalada venue in Union Street in the East End of the city. Earlier today construction workers were dismantling Ensalada and moving it to a new location provided at the 11th hour by council in nearby Rymill Park. City Council chief executive Peter Smith said there had been an error in Council's administrative process and the venue should not have been approved in Union St. He reversed council's decision following a protest from East End traders led by Steve Maras, the general manager of Maras Group, to Ensalada's operators and Union Street property owners, Angela Pastore and Rebecca Faraone. Mr Smith told The Advertiser he was yet establish how the error occured or what it was, but was alerted to it when contacted by the East End Coordination Group, which includes members of the Maras Group. "I haven't fully got to the bottom of how the mistake was made," Mr Smith said. I think it was made in the approval process. But it shouldn't have been approved because a street shouldn't be closed for four weeks for an event. We should have let them know that right at the start. The fact is we approved something we shouldn't have. Mr Smith said complaints came via emails and phone messages from members of the East End Coordination Group but that Council wasn't shutting down the venue "as a result of the complaints." He understood the main complaint was from the Maras Group, and was first aware there was a problem on Tuesday night. "Now we're trying to fix it," he said. Angela Pastore said she called Mr Maras on Tuesday after a council representative told her the Maras Group had a problem. Ms Pastore said she spoke to Mr Maras, who said the Council did not provide permission to close the street for a Maras Group development presently under way in Union St. "I said I don't know anything about that and it's nothing to do with me," Ms Pastore said. I said the Maras Group project was a year-long project and what we were doing was a four-week pop-up. A council representative contacted Ms Pastore and Mrs Faraone and arranged to meet them at 4pm yesterday, when a decision was made to move the venue. A letter emailed from the East End Coordination Group to residents and traders at 3.55pm yesterday stated the Group had contacted Mr Smith and Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood, who "indicated that the process had been flawed and was to be corrected as soon as possible." The letter said the council guaranteed the structure would be gone by Sunday. The letter said the "East End Coordination Group thanks the Adelaide City Council for its prompt response to this situation and (for) providing a resolution." Shortly after, at 4.17pm, the Group sent another email requesting the recipients "disregard the previous email" because the Council was still "working on a resolution and would "advise the East End Coordination Group as soon as possible." Ms Pastore said she heard about the letters from another trader during the meeting with the Council. "I had 25 residents and traders come and see me and ask me what was going on," she said. Ms Pastore and Mrs Faraone wrote to residents and traders on February 8 outlining details of the venue and its trading hours, stating it would strictly adhere to Adelaide City Council (ACC) and Liquor Licensing requirements, and that noise levels would be independently monitored. They offered residents and traders VIP passes to the venue and a double pass to "any of our shows, subject to availability." They had already placed a large advertisement on Page 77 of the Fringe program, released online in early December and in its printed version in early January. Ms Pastore said they received only two complaints, one from a resident and from the Maras Group. Nearby traders, including the Crown and Anchor Hotel and Chocolate Bean, were supportive. Ms Pastore said disruption to the street during the Ensalada set-up had been minimal. Ensalada has a theatre for 100 people, a bar and food. It is now scheduled to open to the public at its new site in Rymill Park, at 7pm, on Saturday. Street theatre, dance, acrobatics, comedy and music are featured among its 40 local, national and international acts. Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood was not available late yesterday but a Council spokeswoman said he probably would not comment as it was> Council policy for only one person to comment on an issue. Also late in the day, Mr Smith said in a media> release: "The decision to reopen Union St was not made as a result of complaints from the East End Coordinator Group (EECG) or the Maras Group, but because the proposal did not comply with our Road Closure Policy. All the EECG and Maras Group did was alert us to the error that had been made. "This is not about a protest being led by me," Mr Maras said. This is about the street being shut down and us not knowing about it - that's what the issue is.