July 20, 2018
The Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the South Burnett Regional Council to begin a staged revitalisation of the Kingaroy CBD as soon as possible.
The KCCI executive met this week and voted overwhelmingly to demand action on behalf of the local business community.
The vote followed reports the much-discussed revitalisation project had been shelved by Council following the failure to secure $2 million funding from the Federal Government.
“The town of Kingaroy simply cannot accept that this Council will not permit the revitalisation plan to begin,” KCCI President Rob Fitz-Herbert said .
“Staged works need to start urgently, in line with the recent feedback from the consultation sessions.
“The funding already allocated in the 2018-19 SBRC Budget for this purpose needs to be released for works to begin now.”
The KCCI has written to all South Burnett councillors urging them to take action.
“We are requesting the budgeted money allocated to the Kingaroy Town Revitalisation be directed to the respective departments, and redevelopment commence this financial year 2018-19.
“We understand the SBRC was unable to secure additional funding from the Federal Government, however, the town requires investment and commencement of works in line with the feedback received from the business and public community.
“Our meetings with the planning department indicated the priority was clearly parking (including RV), Kingaroy and Haly Street and a possible thoroughfare from Kingaroy to Glendon Street.
“Can we make a start on our parking, signage and street appeal, within the Budget? A start now would show confidence in our local community.
“The SBRC has invested over $250,000 in the project to date, and as stated by Mayor Keith Campbell many times, our town requires an upgrade.
“Kingaroy’s appearance is a reflection of our community as a whole, and is ultimately vital to our town’s reputation. This reputation must be that Kingaroy is a great place to live, work, educate our children and draw investment to our region.
“The last plan created for this purpose lay dormant for 15 plus years, and I am sure you do not want to see a repeat of this delay.”
Mr Fitz-Herbert said the KCCI was organising a forum so all Kingaroy business owners could have a say.
“We encourage the business sector to attend. This forum will capture your thoughts on economic development and future town development opportunities,” he said.
A date for this event will be announced soon.
Related articles:
- Kingaroy Streetscape Put On Hold
- CBD Ideas Draw Few Responses
- Reaction To Streetscape ‘Positive’
- Meet The Future Face Of Kingaroy
- Business Meetings For CBD Project
- Public Meetings On Kingaroy CBD Upgrade
- Kingaroy Streetscape Plans Progressing
- Consultants Working On Concept Plan
- Council Plans $8m CBD Upgrade
If the members of KCCI are so keen to pretty up the Kingaroy CBD, perhaps first they should lead by example and spend a few dollars on their shopfronts, or do they want ratepayers to pay for that, too? Even if they were to pressure clean their footpaths one Saturday afternoon, that would be a good start.
C’mon you KCCI chaps. Give the SBRC a break. Now is a good time for the council to bunker down and consolidate. The roads of our region need to be much, much improved. If you Kingaroy business operators want business to come to you, you really need to support proper road repairs in the outer regions. It is not nice to see more rates and less repairs for rural people. A large portion of the money saved here could be put to much better use everywhere else in the shire but the council needs to properly chase efficiency which I am afraid is severely lacking. In fact I sometimes wonder if the elected and unelected people of our good council really care.
Efficiency is the ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste (Wikipedia).