In the last fortnight Katherine residents and retailers have been seeking an answer to the town’s ailing CBD.
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Katherine MLA Sandra Nelson said Katherine’s economy is stable and has not been affected like Darwin or Palmerston.
“The town is definitely not crumbling or dying, there are opportunities for new ventures,” Ms Nelson said.
“The Darwin City Council is thinking about charging a higher rate for empty shops, would that work? I don’t know but it is worth having a conversation about.
“Another good idea would be to offer new businesses cheaper rent for the first 90 days, the government has small business grants that could help with that and alleviate some pressure,” she said.
Ms Nelson said she has been looking into various ideas to boost the CBD.
“I am looking at ways we can replicate Darwin’s International Food Festival in Katherine and a lot of people are interested.
”Pop up shops are a great idea, we need to look at what we don’t have, I have said for a long time we should have a cafe in town that sells books.
“We need to set up a path so when tourists come to town there are avenues to take them around to other parts of Katherine,” she said.
Mayor Fay Miller said strip shops across Australia are looking sad.
“I think there is a general trend for people to shop online now, the entire shopping experience is completely different to what it was 10 years ago,” Mayor Miller said.
“It is pertinent at this time to mention that council does not own the main street, it is up to DIPL (Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics) to make arrangements with businesses.”
Mayor Miller said some of the rents being charged were equivalent to Darwin and prices and “that is just not on”.
“Katherine Town Council will work through Chamber of Commerce to encourage proprietors to be reasonable with rents and upgrade shops.
“You could count the upgrades to buildings on Katherine Terrace in the last 20 years on one hand,” she said.
Some retailers have said the steady rise in council rates in the last few years have pushed up rent prices in town.
“That is absolute rubbish, bring out the rates from the last two years or so, it has been minimal,” Mayor Miller said.
Katherine Chamber of Commerce chairman Kevin Grey said there is potential for empty shop windows to be decorated with photos of the region to beautify the main street.
“Ultimately they are privately owned ventures, so we need to appeal to peoples good nature to do something about it,” Mr Grey said.
“Pop up shops are not a long term solution but they do give people the opportunity to see if their business propositions are economically viable.”
Ms Nelson said some of the empty shop fronts have been empty for a long time.
“Some of the rent is higher than you would expect to pay in Katherine, but we are really lucky that a lot of the stores are owned by local people.
“Our economy has been stable, having the new upgrade at Tindal has been really good as well.
“There is a huge amount of potential in Katherine, it just needs to be better coordinated,” Ms Nelson said.
Ms Nelson said we should see extended business hours during the dry season.
“We need to grow with the times, you cannot complain about business when you shut your doors at 2pm during the dry season.
“Word of mouth is also important, we need to keep talking about Katherine in a positive way to lure more people into town,” she said.