Tamworth Regional Council is considering opening the western end of Peel St to traffic during the Country Music Festival, effectively excluding businesses between Brisbane and Bourke streets from the festival precinct.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The move is part of a plan to further shift the precinct towards Bicentennial Park, although The Leader can exclusively reveal that the Tamworth Business Chamber will counter the move, offering to manage that stretch of the main street in a bid to keep it closed to traffic and included in the festival.
The motion to open the main street between Brisbane and Bourke streets will be put to the vote at Council’s Tuesday meeting.
It comes just two years after the decision to open Brisbane street to traffic had many businesses in that strip up in arms.
TRC Director Business and Community John Sommerlad said “previous attempts to draw traders to this area of Peel Street have proven unsuccessful”, and that “the festival precinct has changed over time.”
The news hasn’t gone down well with business owners in that area, including Business Chamber President Jye Segboer, who has come up with an alternate option.
“Businesses in this area lost 40 to 60 per cent of trade when they opened Brisbane street because that already acts as a barrier to foot traffic.
“They have taken two years for sales to get back to what they were previously, and now council wants to do this,” Mr Segboer said.
“The Chamber is prepared to step up and run the management of the entertainment and activities in that block during the Festival, to ensure that business owners and operators can continue to operate at full capacity during the 2018 Festival.”
“All we would ask is for council to close the street and to provide the stage infrastructure.”
Mr Sommerlad said that businesses or the Chamber running that end of town for the festival “would be a matter for council.”
Council’s original proposal, when Brisbane street was opened two years ago, was to also open that western end of Peel st, at that time council decided not to open the street, and to review that decision following the 2017 festival.
“The festival precinct has changed from what it was. Once upon a time the festival stretched all the way along Peel st, since then we have seen increased activity around Bicentennial Park.
“We have seen record attendance at events in Bicentennial Park over the past few years, and with the development of Family Zone in Kable ave, Fanzone in Fitzroy st and Coca-Cola Country in the Town Hall, festival activity is now centered across a smaller footprint.
“We see many benefits to compacting festival activities into a smaller area,” Mr Sommerlad said.
“Council spends a lot of money putting infrastructure into that park each year, and is now getting more use of that infrastructure – 48,000 people attended concerts in the park at the last festival.”
