Oxford Street retailers hope for brighter shopping days

Clover Moore’s latest initiative to revive Oxford Street’s flagging daytime trade has met with a lukewarm response from the group representing traders in Sydney’s ‘2010’ postcode.

The 2010 Business Partnership, which has spent years lobbying Sydney Council to save Oxford Street, stated that the Lord Mayor’s recently tabled mayoral minute was welcome but what mattered most were deeds.

Ms Moore’s minute called on the City Council’s chief executive officer to investigate options for reinvigorating the former “Golden Mile”.

This included using council owned property to provide affordable “creative spaces” for artists and a greater diversity of retail businesses.

It would also try to improve the street by reducing traffic, moving vehicles away from the kerbside, and changing bus routes.

The minute ended the long running controversy over the 56-76 Oxford Street lot, declaring that the council would not proceed with plans to build a supermarket on the site, which it owns.

Ms Moore repeated her call for a light rail line passing along Oxford Street.

Former 2010 Business Partnership president Andrew Duckmanton said while he hoped Ms Moore’s mayoral minute would lead to change, past experience was not positive.

“This is a classic case of hope versus experience,” Mr Duckmanton said.

“This is a council which is good at words versus action. This is a council that penalises those who go against them.”

Mr Duckmanton said if the Lord Mayor seriously wanted to help retailers in the precinct, the council should set up a working group to represent them.

He said while council lavished millions of dollars on spin doctors and websites, it spent only 0.65 per cent of its budget on economic development in the area.

“This area used to have a 50/50 balance between night and day trade, now it is more like a 70/30 balance,” Mr Duckmanton said.

“Two in three shopping trips by locals flow out of the area because we don’t have the right mix.

“We have businesses going bankrupt here every day.”