Gordon Grover | Public figure
Gordon Grover
Phone: +61 447 846 736
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24.01.2022 OPEN LETTER TO THE TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL COUNCIL: The CBD Revitalisation Advisory Committee, with the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce has today sent an open letter to Toowoomba Region Council with a list of priorities designed to increase the foot traffic/bring people back into the CBD. There are several core reasons why the CBD is in decline in my opinion:... 1. Lack of public amenity or poorly maintained public amenity 2. Poor parking and public transport options 3. Difficulty and cost of developing in the CBD There has been a recent and good focus from the Toowoomba Regional Council on trying to combat the decline in foot traffic, but their response is fundamentally flawed. Pushing shop top living and short term small leases are not going to provide a sustainable economic recovery of the CBD. Council needs to incentivise commercial professional services businesses back to the CBD. If there are large numbers of office workers in the CBD they will spend money in the shops and stores, that will incentivise more shops and stores providing more options and bring even more people in. Improved public spaces and amenity in the CBD, like undercover parking, a CBD greenspace/park, or revitalised Bell St Mall will incentivise business to locate themselves close to that amenity. With more businesses operating from the CBD, more shops and stores and more public amenity that will then see more people want to live in the CBD. It will create a circular healthy economy. I encourage Council to strongly consider looking at reducing rates or incentivising businesses through other financial means to locate themselves in the CBD. Currently it's far cheaper to run a business outside the CBD, it's far easier for customers to access those businesses outside the CBD and there is no demand from office workers to be in the CBD as there is poor or unmaintained amenity. The focus must be on bringing professional services businesses back in. Build a covered carpark for the customers of those businesses. Revitalise the Bell St Mall. Reduce rates or provide financial incentives to relocate into the CBD. Make development easy - stop pushing unreasonable costs and demands onto developers.
22.01.2022 This makes it 3 x Apartments Projects in Brisbane, 2 x Projects in Perth, 1 x Project on the NSW Central Coast, 3 x Projects in Toowoomba and hopefully another in Melbourne. Specialised Property Consulting Property can and is delivering all over the country for our clients.
21.01.2022 While there isn't a need in my opinion yet to increase the number of bus services throughout the Toowoomba Region (its very underutilised), there should be consideration and forward planning now (if there isn't already) as that time will come soon. The Toowoomba Region is growing and will continue to grow. The take up of public transport will steadily increase as our population grows, and particularly if we are successful in incentivising more businesses and people back into... into the CBD. As this happens people will need to change their mindset as its not viable that everyone can drive and park at their place of work or where they want to shop. To encourage this mindset shift the public transport options need to be efficient and easily accessible, and they will need to be better than they are now as that change comes into effect. More bus stops in the suburbs, bus stations in key locations, a possible light rail (utilise the nearly redundant rail line running through the CBD), better bike ways, better parking options...just some things that should be on the drawing board. There needs to be a long term public plan to provide confidence to businesses and to incentivise businesses to locate themselves in our CBD. There are some small short term wins we could do now though to start encouraging that shift and provide some improvements: 1. Why isn't there a bus stop on Ruthven St or Margaret St in the CBD? There is one directly out the front of Grand Central so people can get a bus in and out without leaving Grand Central...why not have one in Ruthven St or Margaret St to encourage people to walk past the CBD shops and restaurants.... 2. We need better public parking. Currently there is next to no covered parking options within the CBD other than Grand Central - so people naturally park their and shop there rather than the CBD shops. 3. What about in Toowoomba? The Toowoomba CBD is quite large compared to other comparable regional CBD's. I think their would be good take up and use of Lime Scooters around the CBD to get people around the CBD quicker and get people off the roads.
03.01.2022 WHY DOES TOOWOOMBA NEED A NEW MULTI-LEVEL CARPARK? For years there has been calls for @toowoombaregion to develop a new multi-level carpark within the Toowoomba CBD. Why is it required? To provide incentive for people to work and shop in the CBD. The uncovered and unsecured parking in the CBD is not good enough.... Covered secured parking will attract professional services businesses to locate themselves nearby so their staff and customers have good available nearby parking. It will boost foot traffic for nearby retail and dining. It will ultimately provide incentive for development - businesses want to be located nearby secured undercover parking. Who/how would it be paid for? Toowoomba Regional Council have traditionally been very conservative with their money (rightly). There is a solution though to minimise the financial outlay and maximise the benefit to the region. There are some very large on grade carparks owned by Toowoomba Regional Council right across the CBD. 2 x Carparks on Neil/Annand St, 1 x Capark on Hume St, 1 x Capark on Victoria St plus others. These are prime land, high value development sites which are underutilised and being land banked by Toowoomba Regional Council to the detriment of the CBD. They are restricting opportunity for development which could ultimately be bringing more foot traffic and social and economic benefits to Toowoomba and the small businesses in the CBD. If Toowoomba Regional Council sold some of these carparks and used that money to develop a multi-storey carpark in the CBD there would be a dual benefit. Not only would you get the benefits of a multi-level secured covered park, you'd get development on those prime development sites. It would bring more people in and help to fix the foot traffic issues the CBD has been experiencing for years, for little to no capital outlay from Council.
02.01.2022 Not far to go until we are half way through the year (where did that go)!...here are some of the projects we continue to deliver or have commenced on this year.
