A SURVEY conducted by the Concerned Inverell Ratepayers Association has indicated more than 60 per cent of businesses in Otho and Byron streets are against the Inverell Shire Council’s Town Centre Renewal Plan (TCRP).
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Meanwhile the Inverell Chamber of Commerce has conducted its own survey of business people, which found most were in favour of the plan.
Cindi Fleming conducted ratepayers group's face-to-face survey of 108 CBD businesses over a two-week period commencing on September 9.
Business names, the names of the people and their signatures were recorded.
Two questions were asked, firstly if businesses had been consulted by council about the plan and secondly if they were in favour of it.
Ninety-seven out of the 108 (89.81 per cent) said they had not been consulted, and 69 out of the 108 (63.89 per cent) said they were against the TCRP.
Sixteen businesses (14.81 per cent) said they were in favour of the plan, while 23 (21.3 per cent) were undecided.
“I heard Mr Michael on the radio saying that he had 30 (businesses) who voted in the Chamber of Commerce for the TCRP, and that those 30 are in full support of the plan,” Ms Fleming said.
“My survey says that most businesses don’t feel that they’ve been consulted by TCRP Sunset Committee and had no input into that plan, and that the majority of the businesses surveyed are not in favour of the TCRP.”
Mr Michael said he thought the survey figures were inaccurate.
“The chamber has started up its own survey,” he said.
Yesterday morning he said the chamber had received 50 responses to its survey conducted by email, with 40 in favour of the TCRP and 10 against. He said he did not think the Concerned Ratepayers Group's survey was accurate.
That survey was handed to Inverell Shire Council yesterday morning.
The Inverell Times is conducting a poll on our website asking if people support the TCRP. To vote go to www.inverelltimes.com.au.