Council inaction leaves Oxford Street devoid of life

BY ALEX MCDONALD
A large council-owned property at the city end of Oxford Street has been unoccupied for nearly three years, at a cost of at least $1.5 million in lost revenue.
President of the Darlinghurst Business Partnership Andrew Duckmanton believes the mismanagement of 66 Oxford Street is emblematic of council’s failure to plan for the historic street’s future.
“There is no overriding vision,” Andrew Duckmanton said, adding, “I don’t know anybody who could own that sized property and not have to worry about interest or mortgage or lease payments on it.”
The City News understands council plans to create a food court at the 66 Oxford Street site, which extends from Oxford Square to the Japanese restaurant, Don Don, near the corner of Crown Street.
The food hall would include a high-end supermarket, most likely a Harris Farm or Fratelli Fresh.
But that plan has been shelved, Andrew Duckmanton said, because of the economic slowdown.
“[Council] took so much time in their process and their selected tenders that by the time they were down to make a decision, this credit crunch was coming, so nobody had any money,” Mr Duckmanton said. “For three years the building has sat dormant.”
Representatives from the local business community met with the Lord Mayor Clover Moore, council CEO Monica Barone and council’s Property Department director John Payne last month to discuss the site’s future prospects.
At a separate meeting in August the trio had indicated that council would alter the original plan to let several short-term tenants occupy the space in the interim. But that plan now appears to be in jeopardy as well.
“We haven’t got the right mix of tenants there,” Mr Duckmanton said of the lower Oxford Street strip. “We would like to get some great businesses on the street that add value to the environment.”
The recently launched “Save Oxford Street” website (www.saveoxfordstreet.com) shows just how dissatisfied locals have become with the increasingly soulless thoroughfare. Like many business owners, Andrew Duckmanton has watched lower Oxford Street become little more than a warren of bars and kebab shops.
According to the Save Oxford Street website: “15 years ago lower Oxford Street was the coolest place to shop and safest place to party. It was the heart of the Gay & Lesbian Community. It was the place to come for designer clothes, imported music and great food. It was a haven that welcomed and embraced individuals without prejudice.
“In 2008 this strip threatens to become nothing more than a destination for late night, violent drunken behaviour. This is at a time when both the City of Sydney and NSW Government are desperately trying to curb late night, alcohol-fuelled violence.”
Ultimately, Mr Duckmanton would like to work collaboratively with council, to make 66 Oxford Street a vibrant and viable addition to the inner-city economy.
“We want independent, emerging, groovy retailers coming in,” he said. “We are having major angst in the street because there would have been five or six really interesting businesses who might have brought another 20 people per week to those premises. We have both a social and economic void on half of the street.”
Council did not respond to questions about the 66 Oxford Street site before the paper went to press.