Commercial vacancy reaches alarming levels

Commercial vacancy rates in Leichhardt are at crisis levels and there is no easy solution on the table, local business leaders say.

At the struggling Italian Forum on Norton St, more than 60 per cent of shopfronts were abandoned when The Inner West Independent visited last week, and several of the filled stores were closed.

Ron Reynolds, President of Italian Forum Limited, which owns and operates the piazza and cultural centre, takes some of the responsibility.

“[The Forum] has a tremendous social and economic power over the rest of Norton St. It’s still a little unrecognised and that’s somewhat the fault of us here [in management],” he said.

But Mr Reynolds, who is also a resident of the Forum, noted the broader afflictions faced by the business community in Leichhardt. He said high rents and the decline of Leichhardt as a destination were contributing to the vacancies, and that big changes in strategy needed to be made.

“I think the Council can be a lot more helpful in its promotional activity,” said Mr Reynolds. “They need to set the benchmark for the way in which we profile our suburb.”

Existing priorities such as live music and busking are a good start, he said, but help from outside Council and the Leichhardt and Annandale Business Chamber (LABC) is required. “There needs to be some leadership there that pulls together people from outside the organisations,” said Mr Reynolds.

Leichhardt Council has prepared an Employment and Economic Development Plan, which recently concluded public consultation. The plan has been broadly welcomed by local businesses.

“It’s something that Council has never had before,” said Executive Director of the LABC, Anitra Morgana. “Having a dedicated officer who is dedicated to fulfilling the [economic] plan – that’s a first for the Leichhardt LGA.”

Research commissioned in preparation for the plan found the performance of high streets continued to decline despite favourable trends in consumer behaviour. Norton St and Parramatta Rd suffered from “poor amenity, traffic congestion, poorly maintained and unattractive buildings, tired public domain [and] low rental yields,” while the report singled out high rents and insufficient parking as the main afflictions of Darling St, Balmain.

Jodie Stewart, President of the Balmain Rozelle Chamber of Commerce, said one contributing factor is that much of Darling St’s real estate is owned by wealthy families “who can afford to sit on spaces for quite a while before they’re rented”.

“Every time I drive up and down the street there’s another shop vacant,” she said.

Greens Councillor Daniel Kogoy said there has been a “lack of focus” from a variety of stakeholders, including from State Government neglect and intransigence from landlords.

“The owners of those sites really need to lift their game,” he said.

Mr Kogoy will move a motion at the May 28 Council meeting for Leichhardt to draw upon the Renew Newcastle campaign, which has turned disused shops into temporary spaces for arts and culture.