LANDLORDS need to be encouraged to offer leases as short as two months to reinvigorate the Dean Street shopping strip, an Albury councillor believes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"The feedback I've got is Dean Street is getting bit old, a bit tired and needs a breath of fresh air and we need to work on it to smarten it up," Cr King said.
To that end he would like Albury Council to combine with retail promotion group Albury CBD to have an online portal that would foster short term leases for fledgling businesses.
The example of somebody returning from Bali and wanting to open a clothing shop, based on what they had seen, was given as an example by Cr King.
Dean Street trader and Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce deputy chair Barry Young cautiously welcomed the push for shorter leases.
"I think it's got some merit but it would need to be controlled, to be sure the pop-ups are up to a certain standard," Mr Young said.
"You'd hate to see a proliferation of junk shops but if its controlled and you get some boutique businesses it would be a good idea."
Cr King also wants the city to reduce the fee costs for businesses having tables and chairs on the Dean Street footpath.
"There needs to be more al fresco dining and al fresco selling," Cr King said.
Mr Young also saw merit in that proposal.
"We would all like to see more al fresco dining, I know a lot of the hospitality businesses are reluctant to do things at the moment because it is expensive," he said.
However, former mayor Henk van de Ven said the charge for tables and chairs was "insignificant" when compared with other business costs such as rent and wages.
He also noted the number of vacant shops in Dean Street was a "small percentage" of the overall number on the Border.
"I think Albury-Wodonga's economy as a whole is robust but retailers are struggling," Cr van de Ven said.
He urged consumers to shop face-to-face, rather than go online, to aid jobs.
