By STEVE GRAY
FOR traders along Tenterfield’s main street, the Grinch that stole Christmas resides in the council chambers.
The council’s decision to dig up Rouse Street during the best trading time of the year has outraged small business owners.
“The ultimate result will be the demise of businesses here, we just can’t keep going,” antique dealer Margot Rees said.
“It’s been done with no consultation with any of us.
“There was just no thought or consideration for commercial premises in Tenterfield.
“My sales have dropped to less than half, and I’ve got years of records suggesting that this week should be a good week for my shop – and every other shop in Tenterfield, I would assume.
“It’s the crucifixion of small business,” she said.
“If we want to get rid of independently-owned shops, this is the way to do it.
“People are telling me they’ve gone to Warwick or Toowoomba to do their Christmas because you can’t get into Tenterfield.”
Ms Rees said General Manager Lotta Jackson and council engineers would not respond to her phone calls.
“There’s dust, dirt, noise, diggers, the traffic build-up, the parking has been diminished. It’s just chaos. It’s not pedestrian friendly,” she said.
Ms Rees said council representatives have claimed they could miss grant money from the State Government unless the work was done now.
“If they had done it in February we could have just closed the shops and gone on a holiday,” she said,
Ms Rees said she had never before been so angry that she felt compelled to contact the media.
“Our elected representatives are just pawns in the hands of overpaid bureaucrats that are running the council,” she said.
Julie Hurtz of the Corner Life and Style Store and Cafe said she realised the work needed to be done, but it should have been delayed until February.
“Pedestrians have access but we haven’t any parking outside,” she said.
“The quote that I had from the council was ’we’re doing it now so we don’t interfere with your Christmas trade, but this is the Christmas trade’.
“Certainly there’s a downturn in trade,” Ms Hurtz said.
“Residents of the town said they don’t want to come down the street when it’s like this.”
Ms Hurtz said people criticising workers on the project should instead “find someone in a white shirt” to make their complaints,
Carol Campbell of Simply Country said people told her they were going out of town to shop because they couldn’t park.
“We’re all very unhappy,” Ms Campbell said. “It’s a crazy, crazy time to be doing it.”
Mayor Peter Petty said the council was constrained by the need to complete the works because the Department of Roads and Maritime Services has scheduled bitumen resheeting for February.
“Hopefully they’ll start before that,” he said.
Current works included upgrading drainage that was 50 and 60 years old.
“The sooner it gets done the sooner it’s finished, and we need people to understand that,” Cr Petty said.
He said council could not wait for the new bitumen cover only to dig it up to fix the drains.
The whole job will be finished by April, Cr Petty said.
