Why is this council hellbent on shutting down a popular local house of horrors?

Fright night at Sarah Naylor-Liddell’s place brings a crowd. 

You could say the mother-of-four is mildly obsessed with Halloween. 

Each year, she takes the month of October off work to prepare her house in Sydney’s south-west for a ghoulish display. 

Affectionately dubbed the Spider House, every inch of her front yard is a spook’s delight.

“I guess I never anticipated it to be as big as it has gone to,” she said.

“We had, you know, hundreds of people come by, then thousands.

“Now I have to have enough candy for at least 5000 people on Halloween.”

Over the years, the mum’s imagination has run wild.

“I wanted all the big things, I like having big things,” she said.

“I was like, you know what, I need to go bigger, I need to do something more, better.

“What can we do? Can we open up our house?”

For six nights each October, Naylor-Liddell opens it up to the public free of charge just to share the love of the spooky season. 

But now the local council has played the role of grim reaper perfectly, telling Naylor-Liddell this year’s haunted house will be her last. 

“We received a phone call that obviously the council has known about what we do,” she said.

“It took one person, one complaint.

“And of all these years, one person has complaints.”

Naylor-Liddell took to social media to share the heartbreaking news with her loyal fans. 

“It literally breaks my heart so much,” she said in a video she posted.

“I was told that even if I applied for a permit, that it's going to get rejected.”

In just 24 hours, Naylor-Liddell has been inundated by support on social media.

“Absolutely disgusting! This is going to break so many kids’ hearts,” one resident said.

“Sounds like a Halloween Grinch to me! God forbid someone do something nice and celebrate spooky season,” another local said.

Others described the move as “un-Australian” and urged the local council to “go fix the potholes instead, you party poopers, think of the kids”.

Laksmhi lives next door and has no complaints about the house

“We loved it, it’s happening every year, this past few years, and we always go and support them,” they said.

Naylor-Liddell said she was not sure who complained.

“I’m happy to lend them some of my stuff if they want to like to decorate their house,” she said.

This weekend's spook fest for Halloween will go ahead at the Spider House.

Naylor-Liddell is just hoping they can find a solution for next year. 

“I don't want people to be charged for something like this, I don't want it to become a money-making thing,” she said.

“You know we have enough of that everywhere in the world, in life.”

Statement from Camden Council

Council welcomes opportunities for the community to come together and enjoy local events, provided they are organised safely, responsibly and in line with the relevant requirements.When activities grow to a scale that has the potential to affect public spaces and surrounding residents, it’s important that the appropriate approvals and requirements are in place.

These processes help ensure the activities are safe, well-managed and considerate of the wider community, including matters such as traffic and pedestrian safety, noise and amenity impacts, food vendors, security and impacts on neighbours.

Council has received complaints from surrounding residents about the activity, including concerns relating to community safety and road and traffic safety.Council’s role is to apply these requirements fairly and proportionately, while working with organisers wherever possible to help them understand their responsibilities and navigate the process.

These requirements apply to everyone and are in place to help protect the safety of participants, residents and the wider community.While this instance may appear similar to other seasonal displays, there are important differences in how activities are operated and the impacts they may have.

For example, running organised tours can trigger planning requirements, including the need for both owners and development consent (DA).

The relevant requirements depend on the nature and scale of the activity and its potential impacts.

This matter is not about Halloween decorations versus other decorations – it relates to the organised tours associated with the activity and the need to ensure everything meets the appropriate planning, safety and approval requirements.In this instance, the activity has been operating without the appropriate checks and approvals being in place.

Council has advised the family that the display is not being stopped from proceeding this coming weekend.

However, if the family wishes to run the activity in future years, they will need to contact Council to discuss the appropriate approval pathway and work through any necessary checks and approvals before proceeding.Council is happy to work with residents and community organisers to help them understand the requirements and deliver fun, safe activities across Camden.

Residents planning future displays or activities are encouraged to contact Council early to discuss their plans and determine whether any approvals are required.