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ISSUE 53, Tuesday 5th May, 2009 www.portchamber.com.au
Quarterly Boardroom Lunch
The Chamber is hosting the inaugural Boardroom lunch at Rydges from 12.30pm on 28 May 2009.

Craig James is our keynote speaker and is sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank and Coastal Pumping.

The Commonwealth Bank’s Chief Economist, TV and Radio personality Craig attempts to demystify the state of the economy. He will take us on a trip through the surprises, challenges and possible rewards thrown up by the current economic environment. This is a session all businesses in Port Macquarie will not want to miss

Book now to reserve your seats. Tickets are $77 for Chamber members and $88 for non-members.

RSVP to info@portchamber.com.au or call Kerry on 6583 4412.

Social Housing Policy - DA2009-0152; DA2009-0153; DA2009-0154 (by the NSW Land and Housing Corporation)
The $25M proposal was first made by Housing NSW three years ago with a view to fill the need for more one and two bedroom apartments and less three bedroom homes, as the demand for social housing in Port Macquarie is coming mostly from the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Council’s strategy is to focus tourist activity in the eastern part of Town Beach precinct near William Street, rather than around Gordon Street.

Housing NSW has stated in the DA and in public announcements that it will select future residents from local public and community housing lists, with care being taken to ensure a compatible mix of residents. However, as members are aware, the Chamber is concerned about the social problems that have arisen in other areas in concentrated public housing.

The Chamber of Commerce made submissions to Council on the development applications. In doing so, the Chamber has taken into account the views of its members and will ensure that if development is to proceed, some mitigating circumstances will be applied. It believes the tourism precinct should be driven by a philosophy of "best use" and not simply by the agenda of others.

Some of the matters addressed in the Chamber’s submission are:
  1. Local businesses to be engaged in the construction of the project.
    The developments should benefit the local business community by providing employment for local builders and contractors. If the experience and expertise of small and medium-sized businesses is not taken into account there is every likelihood that the NSW Land and Housing Corporation will engage out-of-area contractors with whom they have had a prior relationship. Therefore, the Chamber submitted Council ensure that the majority of contractors engaged in the project are local businesses.

  2. Sale of the adjoining land to be enforced.
    The Department of Housing has a policy of aggregating land with a view to consolidation and then on selling the consolidated property to a private developer. They have undertaken this process with the houses situated around the proposed developments and currently own almost the entire residential block. The inherent danger in this strategy is that the Department may not actually ever sell the land, but may use it to build more blocks of units in the future. The Chamber would like to see in the DA a mechanism by which approval can only be granted conditional upon the sale of the adjoining consolidated blocks of land to prevent this scenario from occurring. This would ensure the correct balance and monitoring of high-density residential construction as defined by the Chamber within the CBD and surrounding areas.

  3. Use by Seniors
    The Chamber submitted that a minimum of 80% of the residential site be geared towards "seniors" as defined by Housing NSW. Ongoing Council monitoring of the future uses should somehow work to ensure that percentage is maintained.

  4. Height of Development DA2009-0153
    The Chamber considered the proposed height of this development on Gordon Street was too imposing and conspicuous - particularly for a gateway location along Gordon Street. The Chamber proposed that the height of this development be brought into line with the heights of the other two developments to minimise the visual impact and create a balance within the CBD in line with the Chamber’s endeavour to establish a ‘sense of place’ within the Port Macquarie’s CBD while of course allowing the CBD to remain aesthetically viable.

    5.
Draft Centres Policy: Planning for Retail and Commercial Development – NSW Government Consultation Draft
Economic viability and vitality for Retailers

We précis here some of the issues raised in the recent consultation paper released by the NSW Department of Planning.

The aim of this Centres Policy is to create a network of vital and vibrant centres that cater for the needs of business, and are places where individuals and families want to live, work and shop.

In respect of regional areas in particular, the draft focuses on the creation of a ‘Sense of Place’ within the CBD – a focal point for the community. This covers many aspects of a managed approach to development of the CBD ensuring:
  • easy access whether walking, driving or using public transport
  • providing sufficient and well-located parking, and
  • appropriate infrastructure and facilities for delivery vehicles
The viability of a ‘Main Street’ is an important focus, but particular attention must also be paid to the implications of new retail and commercial developments in ‘edge-of centre’ or ‘out-of centre’ locations. The paper suggests that retailing spread too thinly across a wide geographic region will quite often have an adverse implication and cause the closure of smaller businesses due to the lack of business volume in the CBD.

Members will be aware that this reflects a concern of the Chamber.

The Consultation Draft April 2009 (Not Government Policy) – is available here

Regional Strategy – Industrial and Residential Components
$6.4 billion social housing component of the Government’s stimulus package over the next 3 years will deliver 9000 additional social housing homes and an extra 37,000 jobs and apprenticeships across NSW. In addition, local builders, engineers, architects and tradespeople are all expected to benefit addition to the $14.7 billion stimulus package for the regions school infrastructure program. This aspect of the government’s stimulus package has the potential to deliver significant benefits to our region through the generation of employment in the local building sector and flow-on activity in the wider business community.

Industrial Development
Matt Rogers presented to the Chamber Information Night to discuss the allocation of land for industrial uses.

According to Matt Rogers, sufficient zoned and subdivided industrial land has now been allocated in the Port Macquarie region. Buffers between industrial and residential areas will also be closely monitored to ensure the status of residential areas will not be compromised. Due to their scale or nature (ie hazards or noise emissions) certain industries are located outside of settlements. For example, some marine-based industries may be located outside towns due to their need for access to navigable waterways. The economic value of natural resources and natural environments in the Region will be recognised as an employment generator due to its importance to tourism and primary industries including agriculture, forestry, fishing and extractive/mining industries.

As outlined in the MNC Regional Strategy Port Macquarie, in particular, will require large-scale tourism facilities and industrial lands to support future growth and Councils will be required to prepare character statements for their localities under the Department of Planning's North Coast Urban Design guidelines (2009).

Entrepreneurs – The Key to Business Development
Trevor Sargeant spoke recently on the economic development strategies in place at Council.

Now that most of the focus has partly shifted from residential development, the town’s industrial and retail and commercial areas are moving ahead. This will surely place this town at the centre of the Mid-North Coast Region – a long time coming but worth the wait as there are many dedicated individuals and businesses involved.

There are two main issues to be dealt with before Port Macquarie will be able to successfully move forward: industrial development and the recognition and utlisation of Port Macquarie’s ‘entrepreneurs’ - in particular ‘home grown’ will offer great benefits and contributions

At last night’s Chamber Information Night, Trevor Sargeant (Economic Development, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council) emphasised that growth in the area will be led by a comparatively small number of entrepreneurial firms but, with assistance from the Business Development Program, they will be nurtured and given intensive assistance which will allow them to maximise their growth.

With a population growth averaging 1.6% per annum, entrepreneurs are our future,” says Trevor. “We must offer the best possible environment to nurture the growth of these individuals and businesses, but to be successful a business must truly want to grow. Port Macquarie is an extremely nice place to set up a business so encouraging existing businesses and entrepreneurs is an important step in creating growth and establishing the future of community assets and jobs.”

The Council’s ‘Building an Entrepreneurial Community’ program is aimed at entrepreneurs in the Port Macquarie Hastings area. To find out more visit www.hastings.nsw.gov.au

You may also download stories about current entrepreneurial activity in the area.

The Council’s Economic Development booklet ‘This is What We Do’ is available here

Work for the Dole
The Chamber has had an ongoing program delivering work for the dole projects for the last 8 years. During that time Chamber has engaged numerous participants and added to the social capital of Port Macquarie through the delivery of certain public assets and infrastructure.

The Federal Government has recently announced changes to the job network and one of the work for the dole providers within the network, H&H, will not be going forward in Port Macquarie.

The Chamber wishes to thank H&H for its hard work and dedication during its operation and for its success in securing those undertaking the programme, with the skills and work experience necessary to find suitable employment and more.

There is a degree of uncertainty around the work for the dole program post 30 June 2009. The Chamber hopes that the program will continue as it has proved successful in giving participants life and work skills and delivered assets to the community. We are working with the remaining providers and will work with new entrants to see how we can continue to deliver this worthwhile program in future.

Chamber Board
Robert Turner (President) | Kellon Beard | Rosalind Blandford | Peter Buckland | Bob Gillroy | Janette Hyde | Daniel Jordan | Peter Leicht | Bill Linney | Peter Newman | Anthony Wilson | Geoff Woodham
 
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Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce
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Cnr Hay & Clarence Streets, Port Macquarie 2444
Ph: (02) 6583 4412   F: (02) 6583 2766
Email: executive@portchamber.com.au Web: www.portchamber.com.au


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