Noosa business organisations and owners hold serious concerns over the negative impact to businesses of Noosa Council’s proposed advertising sign policy changes which include the banning of A-frame, banner and flag style signs.
Noosa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) president Janet Kake said chamber members definitely wanted to keep the A-frames and banners.”We can’t afford not to get the traffic,” she said.
She said CCIQ acknowledged there was a problem with signage and regulation was required but wants to negotiate ways for businesses to maintain the signs that are vital to not only attracting customers but providing work for local signwriters.
Businesses, particularly those not visible from the main road agreed, telling Noosa Today they were very concerned at the effect on their businesses if the new laws were introduced.
“This is a tourist area. The locals know we are here but the tourists don’t,” one business owner said.
“It will be detrimental to my business,” another owner said. “It will affect my business because I am out of sight of the roadside. People obviously see it because they order from the sign.”
One owner suggested the signs could be smaller in size or more uniform to improve the amenity of the area while still enabling businesses to be visible to customers.
Cooroy CCIQ president Martin Duncan likes the character the signage brings to the hinterland town of Cooroy.
“I love Cooroy and I think it’s quite artistic,” he said.
“We don’t want it to look like a residential street.”
Noosaville Business Association president Joel Laventure is urging business owners to make submissions to Council to make their concerns known. He said Council advised him last Thursday that they had received only 11 submissions.
“This is a major issue that affects the majority of businesses in our association. I’ve gone through the information in detail and I really think what is being proposed raises some significant concerns for us all,” he said.
“Each submission matters and we all need to act now.”
Residents and business owners have only until 26 July to make submissions. To find out about the local law changes or make a submission visit yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au
