Coffs Harbour City Council’s Trading Places Footpath Activation Initiative aims to create vibrant spaces on the footpaths outside local shops to encourage people to stop, look, stay, linger for longer and hopefully buy from local retailers. The Initiative waives footpath fees and simplifies processes for footpath use for A-frame signage, outdoor dining, merchandise displays, temporary street stalls and other footpath activations.
Background
Before the Trading Places Trial, Council’s services, applications and regulatory requirements for businesses were focused on regulation and compliance and not customer needs. Customers were dealing with different Council departments to discuss the processes and paperwork needed to run their business. Some customers (community groups) were interested in utilising the footpath as part of their operations but they were turned away by Council as there was no formal process in place to do so.
Implementation
- Research undertaken – Council audited existing systems, policies and processes and liaised with other Councils delivering similar projects. Council analysed available data of existing businesses with agreements for footpath use, conducted site visits and encouraged customer feedback.
- Working party formed – multi-disciplinary team from relevant Council sections was created to develop and implement the trial to identify and resolve potential issues and providing ongoing subject matter expertise as well as advice during implementation.
- Systems and Processes – several paper application forms were centralised into an online registration point through their digital platform which removed the need for businesses to deal with different Council teams. An online booking calendar was established to enable buskers and community groups to manage their own bookings for street stalls.
- Interaction with the local Small Business Friendly Council (SBFC) Working Group – this ensured businesses and the wider community understood the new footpath activation opportunity and that it fostered important feedback from the SBFC group.
- Trial & Implementation – new business model was trialled in CBD to test a variety of footpath widths and conditions. Based on consultation with all the relevant stakeholders the model was reviewed, and changes were made before extending the initiative across the entire LGA.
Benefits
- Savings from waived fees for local businesses.
- Replacement of several paper forms and unnecessary approval processes with an online registration process.
- Traders had more pride in the footpath spaces outside their shops.
- Increased collaboration between Council and businesses helped bring local streets to life.
Outcomes and results
Council’s customer-centred approach has resulted in:
- Waiving fees (and refunding fees paid) resulted in a significant cost saving for businesses which allowed many to reinvest in their business for future growth and activation.
- A simplified registration process has saved time and resources for both businesses and Council.
- More activations in public spaces and new business offerings (pop-up shops) as a result of community groups gaining access and authorisation to use local footpaths for their activities.
Trading places had a successful six-month trial and Council rolled out the initiative to all commercial zones within their local government area.
Costs and funding
There was no cost in implementing the project. The reduction in footpath revenue was budgeted for in future operational budgets.
Key learnings
No major issues or public safety incidents were reported despite the ‘relaxing’ of processes and requirements. Trading Places represented a significant relationship rebuilding process between business owners and Council.
Other relevant information
The trial received 60 registrations for footpath activity in the CBD including 35 were from businesses and the rest were from individuals or community groups. Business involvement included pop-up shops, temporary market research activities and one liquor licensing application for extension of trade.
Council Details
Population size: 75,000
LGA size: 1,175 km2
State Electorate: Coffs Harbour
Federal Electorate: Cowper