By ALENA HIGGINS
VACANT shopfronts rarely instil business confidence or communities with pride, especially when a string of them line the main street.
But this is the reality facing many rural towns as retailers struggle to remain competitive and afloat in the internet age.
Tenterfield has come under fire of late for failing to pro-actively stem the tide of closures in its CBD.
Tenterfield Progress Association president Robert Walker gave an impassioned plea on radio last month for local business leaders and Tenterfield Shire Council to band together to form a think-tank to tackle the problem.
Mr Walker recently accused Tenterfield Shire Council’s business development officer Harry Bolton of “misleading” the public by downplaying the situation in a local newspaper article.
“I don’t want to be told nice things, I want to be told the truth,” Mr Walker told The Southern Free Times.
“To hear, ‘don’t worry about the 14 shops that are closed, we will bounce back, we are a resilient town’, is pathetic.
“Internet buying is an unstoppable force and what we need to do is address this and prepare the businesses for the transition and subsidise cottage-style businesses – little joints like these need to have some reason for people to shop.”
Mr Bolton defended his position, saying the council was working closely with Tenterfield and District Business Association and tourism officers to address the issue and find a solution.
He acknowledged he did not have all the answers, and if he did “every community in Australia would be ringing us”, but stressed the need to remain upbeat.
“There is a lot of good positive stuff happening and sometimes I think there is too much focus on the negatives,” Mr Bolton said.
“A sure fire way bring a community down is harping on about the negatives. Of course there are things that need to be addressed and worked on, but it should not take over from the positive things that are happening in the community.”
Business association chairwoman Rebecca Carpenter said there were a number of plans in the pipeline to hopefully improve business presence in the main street and across the district, including incentives promotions and an intriguing project “never seen before”.
Both Mr Bolton and Ms Carpenter said they would work with the progress association if approached through the appropriate channels.
