By JONATHON HOWARD
ANOTHER Noosa Junction business is set to close its doors, citing dwindling sales and a lack of convenient parking.
It’s hard times for Junction business owners and operators who remain divided over how best to promote and boost the Junction, with renewed calls for angle parking to be considered.
Several business owners previously backed a call for a parallel parking with a petition of more than 400 signatures submitted to Noosa Council last month.
Meanwhile, businesses are facing the harsh realities with the announcement that the Noosa Bag Shop and Tobacco Station will close, and its last day of trade is on Friday 31 July.
The store has been located at shop 1, 19 Sunshine Beach Road for almost 26 years, but a lack of convenient parking, as well as loading bay issues, has dealt the business a savage blow.
Noosa Bag Shop and Tobacco Station manager Fiona O’Donnell said the stores fate was sealed when the bus station was installed out the front.
“The moment the bus station was put in and the loading bays were taken away, we lost about $20,000 worth of revenue a week,” she said.
Ms O’Donnell said customers liked being able to stop-and-go out the front, but a lack of street parking and the bus stop had prevented this.
“There’s just no convenience for our customers who could buy their products at the service station,” she said.
Noosa Junction Association has been attempting to promote the Junction with the “Come Back Again” radio campaign and other promotional-based activities.
Vice-president of the Noosa Junction Association, Susan Pollard, who has also been a Junction business owner for the past 10 years, said that parallel parking was not the answer.
“We need to look at other more feasible options that can help boost business in the Junction,” she said.
“I do not see parallel parking as the answer and it’s extremely unlikely to occur.”
Ms Pollard acknowledged it was tough to see the Tobacco Station close, but she said a decline in cigarette sales could have been another factor.
“We can’t deny that the number of smokers has declined since plain packaging and this could be one of the contributing factors in the store’s closure,” she said.
Ms Pollard said statistics had shown around a 15 per cent decline in the number of smokers Australia-wide.
She also played down nasty rumours that Town Councillor John Waterhouse was fired from the Junction Association.
Ms Pollard said Mr Waterhouse was not fired but instead did not have his contract renewed.
“Because we are becoming a more independent committee, we felt John’s contract was no longer required – however this contract was not terminated, instead it was simply not renewed,” she said.
Ms Pollard said her business was also suffering, but she did not blame the parking.
“During this year’s Federal Government budget, there’s a lot of uncertainty and fear of spending,” she said.
“We’re all feeling the pinch and the effects could be worse than the global financial crisis.”
In the meantime, Ms Pollard was calling on Noosa locals to support the Junction.
“We can all do our bit by keeping the Junction in mind when we do our shopping,” she said.
The Noosa Junction Association held its monthly committee meeting on Tuesday 22 July.
