Blue Mountains Council’s ‘love local’ hypocrisy towards local businesses

May 30, 2021

The disconnect between government and local small business is stark, perhaps most tangibly in the Blue Mountains between Council and tourist reliant retailers of the upper Blue Mountains.

Retailers need to beware of visits from smiling council PR staff, but don’t mention the word ‘COMPENSATION’.

Blue Mountains business retailers endure inflated rents due to the ever increasing Council rates imposed on commercial property owners who just pass on the costs.

It’s as though the ratepayer-salaried minions in Council’s ivory tower presume anyone in business is wealthy. Yet one wonders how many days of trading per week it usually takes for a business owner of a shop or eatery to actually breakeven after such over-inflated operating costs on top of stock and wages?

Would Council know or check or care?

Then squeezed at the other end, local retail owner profits get skimmed every time Council approves another large retail chain muscling in like Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, Dan Murphys and Subway and from large franchises like ‘Bed Bath N Table’ (Dempsey Group). Such off-Mountain competition undermines struggling local retailers by undercutting prices due to their larger purchasing power and imports from China. It just floods more sameness like anywhere else.

Contrast why are visitors attracted to the neighbouring heritage village of Leura, especially for Mother’s Day for instance?

Well, visitors of many persuasions are attracted to Leura Mall’s leafy and quality heritage charm, its traditional landscaping and caring manicured gardening and due to the many behind the scenes efforts of The Leura Village Association.

It’s also because of the unique quality offerings and shopping experience provided by thoughtful and insightful local retail owners and their local staff so aligned to serving the desires of the visitor.

So it’s not the care or effort of Blue Mountains Council as many presume.

Leura Mall – remains a popular visitor drawcard, but no thanks to local government (council). The footpaths are just dark red bricked. There is no need for pebblecrete nor pink-died concrete to ‘tart it’ up.

Local tourism thrives from being special and unique in its offerings and experiences. Visitors are not attracted by the sameness they can readily find at home or anywhere else – like the 240 Dan Murphy’s liquor outlets saturating Australia. Yet it is this Dan Murphy’s store (below) which Blue Mountains Council has embraced to become Katoomba’s prominent greeting feature as visitors cross over the railway bridge.

Katoomba’s first impression to visitors – courtesy of Blue Mountains councillors’ approval in 2010.

And year on year, Council keeps jacking up its commercial rates on the landlords of tourism-dependent retailers of the upper Blue Mountains. It’s as if Council in its ratepayer-funded financial bubble preconceives of small business retailers reaping rivers of profit from weekly tourist visitations – so it can justify annual rate hikes to share in an imaginary bounty.

Yet whom on council has run a tourism-dependent small business to know the truthful struggle of achieving any weekly breakeven?

Council’s arbitrary rate hikes on commercial properties invariably get passed on by landlords as higher rents to their retail business tenants. This only serves to further undermine the viability of local retailers to be able to trade. Such Council financial bubble culture has and continues to destroy local business creativity and entrepreneurship.

Walk around Katoomba to see many vacant shops up for lease or now just mere low value pop-ups.

Then on top of the high rents and outside competition approved by Council, local business revenues suffer visitation lockdowns as a consequence of government abrogation of responsibility.

The New South Wales Government’s Rural Fire Service (RFS) invariably leaves wildfires to spread every summer. In the lead up to the peak Christmas tourist season in 2019 the RFS let the Gospers Mountains wildfire wipe out all the Wollemi National Park’s ecology and combined with other blazes more than 80% of Blue Mountains World Heritage. These catastrophic wildfires ultimately resulted in multiple declared emergencies by the NSW Government and the entire Blue Mountains blanketed by woodsmoke (aka carbon emissions), so shutting down visitation to the Blue Mountains for months (Nov 2019 through January 2020. This is the Blue Mountains peak tourist season!

A remote ignition on 26th October 2019 was left to burn and spread such that by 12 January 2020, some 11 weeks later, it had incinerated more than 1 million hectares of our World Heritage and caused blanket shut down of Blue Mountains tourism.

Following the end of the decade long drought culminating in the predictable heightened bushfire risk and catastrophe, the recurring La Niña wet weather cycle occurred from February 2020. It brought a predictable series of Australian East Coast Low heavy monsoonal rain fall events causing localised flooding and various landslips.

Yet inadequate stormwater hydrology planning by Council has seen many hiking tracks and tourist road closures such around Leura Cascades which has been close for well over a year since February 2020 when the heavy rains began. Council doesn’t care about such tourist visitation.

Since January 2020, the Australian Government abrogated its national quarantine responsibilities, allowing yet another contagious virus epidemic from foreign lands, China Coronavirus, to enter and circulate within Australia. This has since lead to a pandemic and consequential economic lockdowns nationally.

Recall the outbreak of Bird Flu in 1997, SARS in 2002 and MERS‐CoV in 2012, yet government quarantine continues to fail its citizens, society and economy.

In the lead up to the normally busy Easter long weekend in 2020, Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill pleaded with visitors to stay away from the Blue Mountains. Whilst an understandable precaution to prevent the virus spread, this again compounded the dearth of sales of tourist-dependent local businesses – retail, eateries, accommodation, etc.

Previously unheard of: An empty Great Western Highway at Blackheath on Good Friday 10th April 2020.

A year later, just as the pandemic lockdown was showing signs of getting under control on 26th December 2020 a staffer of Katoomba’s Greenwell and Thomas Pharmacy tested positive for COVID-19, having arrived from Sydney.

This threw the whole Blue Mountains into social and economic lockdown for another two weeks – all eateries and shops which had stocked and geared up to trade, suddenly had to close. So much for the perishable stock. Mask-wearing was mandatory with threats of COVID police issuing on the spot fines for non-compliance. The high streets were devoid of life for a further two weeks.

Then Council Digs Up High Street Retail..again!

By February 2020 finally just a glimmer of hope emerged as the first round of Astra-Zeneca COVID vaccine arrived from Britain for the first round of Australian public distribution.

It was around this time that Council received a federal government grant of $870,000 to boost the local economy out of a Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Programme (taxpayer funded of course).

So what did councillors decide to spend nearly a million dollars on? Not fixing the landslips and closed road infrastructure, but in their infinite wisdom approving tarting up Katoomba Street’s entire retail footpath down the eastern side. After all, they had tarted up the western side at a cost of $2 million back in 2012.

The bearer of the 2021 gift, federal Senator Marise Payne has stated:

“By partnering with Blue Mountains Council on this project and others, we’re helping to support tourism and boost live-ability. This … will significantly contribute to the rejuvenation of Katoomba town centre.”

How so? Council unilaterally undertook this back in 2012 with the same intention – rejuvenation. But how has Council’s pebblecrete tarting up of the western side footpath of Katoomba Street tangibly support tourism and boosted live-ability?

Council’s footpath tart up back in 2012 extended from Bathurst Road just shy of The Corner Roast eatery, then continuing a third the way down Katoomba Street to Froma Lane, which happens to be the rear access to Council’s cultural centre which few people use. The northside of Gang Gang street outside the Katoomba Railway Station got pinked.

Back in 2012, Council tarted up the western side footpath of Katoomba Street at a Blue Mountains ratepayer cost of $870,000. The ‘revitalisation’ project was dubbed ‘Project 2 Katoomba Town Centre Footpaths’ and included a Sydney-based contractor digging up the existing footpath and replacing it with dark pink pebblecrete. The footpath tarting project extended down Katoomba Street (west side), Bathurst Road (south side) and Gang Gang street (north side) outside the Katoomba Railway Station.

But the pink pebblecreting is inconsistent. Not every retailer “benefited” having a new pebblecrete footpath outside their shop. Some had to settle for 500mm square pink concrete fake pavers instead, from The Trolley Shoppe (since folded) around till you get to The Carrington Hotel, then it oddly starts again. The old post office building misses out, but then it starts again outside the old Lloyds Jeweller to Froma Lane.

Certain establishments were blessed with a pink driveway ramp, like The Carrington Hotel.

One has to surmise that perhaps the commercial landlords were required to secretly contribute to a fighting fund to go pebblecrete pink outside their properties, else get the lesser paving option?

What was wrong with the perfectly good bricks which were a shade of pink as well? What did all them cost to lay the length of Katoomba Streets retail precinct?

Nothing wrong with these perfectly good bricks before Council had them dug up in February 2021

The same colour has been chosen now in 2021, this time down the eastern side of Katoomba Street, like for the Commonwealth Bank (below).

“Pebblecrete it and paint it pink and they will come” – theory.

Which Blue Mountains councillors are behind this extravagant and disruptive nonsense? Well the Upper Blue Mountains Ward 1 that extends from Mount Wilson to Wentworth Falls is ‘represented’ by three councillors being: Cr Kerry Brown, Cr Kevin Schreiber and Cr Don McGregor.

May be they can explain the big spend to go pink. Did they go for a walk up and down Katoomba Street only to realise that many shops are either vacant, up for lease or occupied by temporary pop-up occupiers. Did they engaged an outside consultant to come up with a way of making this Katoomba high street more appealing to retail tenants, perhaps envying of nearby drawcard Leura Mall model on the adjacent hill.

Was the consultant’s silver bullet solution to tart up the retail footpath in pink to make it look ‘better’ and lure tourists to spend. The theory is that by looking better, potential retailers would take up all the vacant leases. Interesting theory that.

But that theory has not been validated. No follow up survey has been conducted by Council to evaluate the costly benefit of tarting up footpaths in pink. Indeed, since that time many retailers have sold up and vacated.

KATOOMBA RETAIL DEMISE: Council’s extravagant footpath tarted in pebblecrete and concrete pavers back in 2012 – has failed to benefit Katoomba retailers.

[Photo taken 27th May 2021]

Footpath tarting up is not councillors’ money, nor ratepayers’ it seems, but a gift from above – the feds. Have these millions gifted been wisely spent?

Mayor Mark Greenhill justifies this big spend thus:

“This is one of three projects that will significantly contribute to the rejuvenation of Katoomba town centre. Katoomba is a destination for visitors from all over the world and Australia, as well as a popular shopping and recreational spot for Blue Mountains locals. This upgrade will improve the overall look and functionality of the town for residents, businesses and visitors.”

Which year is all this to happen Mr Mayor? Australian borders are set to remain closed to most international visitors for the foreseeable future – years.

“Functionality” you mention. Well the local retailers reckon there’s an underlying justification there, that council keeps getting sued by pedestrians tripping up on unmaintained uneven footpaths. So what better way to avoid maintenance than to apply for a capital works grant?

3 Months of Diverting Pedestrians Away

Council’s vision splendid announced 19th February 2021 was for the “replacement works” (the digging up then tarting up) to coincide with retail hours (Monday through Friday 7am to 6pm and on Saturdays 7am-3pm) just to rub it in.

Council’s ‘community liaison’ (aka political spin doctors) claimed the work would be in three stages over the following three months (depending on weather) to ensure minimum disruption. But instead, the pebblecrete footpath contractor reckoned it would be more convenient for them to dig up the whole length of the street at once.

Council acquiesced without consultation. So despite council assurances that the work would be done in three sections, the entire footpath from the roundabout near the railway station right down to St Canice’s Catholic Church was ripped up.

If you want to destroy a tourism economy this is how you do it.

Visiting pedestrians as they existed the Katoomba Railway Station were confronted by a construction no-go zone with signage redirection them to avoid the eastern side of Katoomba Street.

PEDESTRIANS BUGGER OFF: No local consultation, no compensation

As the La Niña East Coast Low rains repeated, Council’s contractor abandoned the entire footpath as ugly fenced-off no-go construction zone for months until mid-May 2021. This three plus month footpath closure has unnecessarily perpetuating sales starvation upon the affected Katoomba Street’s retail businesses.

Incantations shop owner Andrew Smith, and many of his fellow shop owners on the eastern side of the street, are dumbfounded.

“It’s actually destroyed the whole bloody street. We’ve just come through the bushfires and COVID and now we’ve got this… Everybody’s pissed off. I rang council and they said due to inclement weather they’ve decided to dig up the whole thing.”

He said dirt and dust had been coming in to all the shops and, after the rain, customers were walking mud inside. “We now have to mop our floors every morning,” Mr Smith said.

Council had advertised the work to be happening in stages: From Theo Poulos to Katoomba Wines; from Omnia to Specsavers; and then from the National Bank to the car park next to St Canice’s. Lynne Curan, from Omnia, was to be in the second section of work and hoped to be able to trade normally over Easter.

“Mine wasn’t meant to start until after Easter and last Wednesday [March 10] I found it like this. And there was no consultation.”

Thanks to Council, Katoomba Street retailers are suffering and going broke

Michael Pugh from Gemglow Jewelers said it was the final straw and he will now close down for good. “It’s just not viable. I’m 41 per cent down on March last year, and that was the start of the lockdown.”

Katoomba’s last jeweller in Katoomba as a result is to shutdown from June 2021, thanks to Council’s impost.

All Class: Liberal Party Councillor Kevin Schreiber’s corflute in a vacate shop window in Katoomba Street

‘Love Local’ Political Hypocrisy

Exorbitant rates, widespread bushfires, landslips, pandemic lockdowns…mmm what else can government do to destroy Blue Mountains tourism?

Voilà!

Destroy pedestrian traffic, that’ll do it!

If you want to destroy a tourism economy, this is how you do it.

Council community liaison officers (aka spin doctors) are paying smiling/caring Avon Lady type visits to disaffected retailers, but as soon as any mention of ‘compensation’ gets raised, the PR smiles vanish and the spin doctors move on to the next retailer. Else if the shop is up for lease, to the next one.

Council’s ‘Love Local Campaign’ was launched 13 January 2020 post-bushfire lockdown, and originally aimed to encourage locals to shop locally.

Yet this polly-conjured rejuvenation campaign ‘LOVE LOCAL‘ ignores that fact that the majority of locals in the Upper Mountains would choose to shop locally anyway. This is simply because to otherwise shop eastward at Penrith is too far away (40km drive each way) or Lithgow (almost 40km drive each way) is far less well served by retail and with less choice.

So Blue Mountains Council’s ‘Love Local Campaign’ is all motherhood PR to pretend to show it gives a damn about local businesses suffering under government lockdowns caused directly by government failures.

No public servants have lost income from taxpayers/ratepayers.

Council’s campaign was probably garnered from more consultants, who pinched the idea anyway from the hippy movement of the 1970s which was reacting to increasing dominance of multinational globalisation. In the UK, the National Association of British Market Authorities also began adopting an annual Love Your Local Market campaign since 2011.

So it’s hardly new or novel.

It’s not just Katoomba sharing Council’s love local campaign. Wentworth Falls high street (Station Street) is also copping a digging up. This time its not pink pebblecrete but grey asphalt and not called rejuvenation, but renewal. And this time its “to improve access and safety.”

It must be a different budget. Council’s Station Street digging up project commenced in May 2021 and the work is estimated to take up to ten weeks, weather permitting.

Council’s PR release:

“Council is taking measures to ensure minimum disruption to parking and pedestrians on Station Street, including staging the project over four sections and conducting driveway work during the night.”

Sounds familiar? Mr Mayor again:

“This is another important project that is helping to improve the accessibility and safety of our village centres, for our community and visitors to the area.”

A walk around the top of Katoomba’s retail high street this month (May 2021) bears witness to the following retailers that have recently or currently selling up on the eastern side of Katoomba Street:

#4: Rene’s Pizza Place (since 1976)

Happier times at Rene’s, pre-government failings and lockdowns

#34: Gemglow Jewellers (relocated from #157 in April 2019. Jeweller Michael Pugh took over the business in 2017 when former owner Robert Waayer retired. At #157 it was a jewellery store in one form or another since Nora Harris opened for business back in 1961)
#36: Embassy Vegetarian Café (was Zen-Sai Japanese Restaurant pre-bushfires, and formerly for many decades the popular Art Deco Café Zuppa)
#40: Blue Haze Coffee House and Restaurant (previously Mountain Ridges Restaurant)
#54 Journey Café (currently Boss Noodles, formerly Isobar Café
& Bar)

#66: Skin Deep Original Pty Ltd clothing store owned by Lou and Michael Constantinou from 2015. Lou was pleased as punch when Bob Geldof called in on opening day.

When she asked what he was doing in Katoomba, his friend said “shopping”, Mrs Constantinou said. “He didn’t buy anything but said the store was fantastic and wished us all the best.” [READ MORE]. Formerly the building was leased to Raine & Horne real estate agents for many years.

#88: Good Bytes Computers Tech Support Computer Repairs
#122: Aunty Ed’s Restaurant and Bar (previously named Aunty Jack’s, then before that was Golden Kinnaree Thai Restaurant)

It’s copycat government ‘we know what’s good for you‘ attitude like Sydney’s Light Rail elitist impost from some polly junket to Copenhagen. Compare this story: ‘Further delays to Sydney CBD light rail construction leave retailers struggling‘.

Vivo Cafe owner Con Vithoulkas said revenue fell by 30%.

[READ the 2018 OUTCOME]

Angela Vithoulkas will shut her Vivo cafe on August 24. — **Angela Vithoulkas (Con’s wife and business partner) shut there Vivo cafe on August 24 2018**

And watch the included lead VIDEO of their family The Book Kitchen Cafe in Surry Hills who’s revenue has more than halved since construction of Sydney’s $2.1 billion light rail line which resulted in high barricades being erected directly outside its doors began in May 2017 with flat denial of any government financial compensation.

Council’s Love Local Campaign is clearly hypocritical.

Leura Mall has/had the same brick footpath as Katoomba, yet Leura Mall thrives with tourist visitation most days. Clearly pebblecrete tarting up is but a polly folly.