THERE would be very few people who wouldn’t want a sparkling CBD. After all, it is the financial centre of the city and our experiences in it shape not only our perceptions but those of visitors as well.
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To that end, Shoalhaven City Council has recently been right on the front foot with its revitalisation program. We have seen the new Jelly Bean Park constructed in the Egans Lane precinct, along with council-initiated community art projects and some highly successful private ones, including the Micro Galleries, which has lent the usually dreary Stewart Place vibrancy and colour.
There have been missteps along the way, with Junction Court high on the list. When its first stage opened, free of traffic, it became a vibrant little hub; when the second stage allowed traffic through, all the good work was undone. Pressure from CBD ratepayers swayed council and the result has been disappointing to say the least. A perfectly good community hub was transformed into another exit out of the CBD – essentially a rat run.
Now CBD ratepayers are complaining they are paying too much being in the CBD and want some of that burden shifted to other areas such as South Nowra. Naturally, the ratepayers in South Nowra are jumping up and down, quite rightly pointing out that they get much less bang for their rates buck – no footpaths, no bins, no street scaping, no maintenance of council owned verges.
John Lamont is on the money in calling for a thorough analysis of who pays what throughout the city and what the return is on that investment. It should have happened before the rates proposal being pushed by a small group of ratepayers made it onto the council’s draft operational plan.
What should also happen is that CBD ratepayers make their own contribution to beautifying the CBD, starting with their own properties, many of which could do with a lick of paint and a bit of loving.