Inverell Shire Council manager of civil engineering Justin Pay and technical officer Michael Frost were on hand to discuss the changes on Otho Street as part of the Town Centre Renewal Plan (TCRP), and ways the council can help limit disruptions during construction. 

“It was a really good, all round discussion. Council are working with the businesses and the business community as much as possible to help minimise impact,” chamber president Josh McPhee said.

“There is a disruption, there is some traffic and parking issues, but the council are doing their utmost to minimise impact so we can upgrade our CBD intersection.”

The council will be adding signage next to the ‘detour ahead’ display boards to indicate that parking is available in the CBD. Mr McPhee said that the council was receptive to “reasonable” requests to support the business community during the construction period. 

The chamber also discussed two new promotions to keep Otho Street businesses in the limelight for the next 10 weeks. 

One promotion, which is expected to be launched next week, will involve weekly prizes for shoppers.

“People are going to want to visit their favourite shops anyway. Sometimes there’ll be some fringe people that will need extra enticement, and we’re hoping to drive that extra interest to those businesses,” Mr McPhee said. 

“I think people want to get behind their local businesses, people want to get behind businesses that they frequent or shop at or go to. We’ve just got to help that along.”

Community radio station STAFM will also help keep the focus on Otho Street, with a series of interviews highlighting various businesses and exploring what makes each unique.

“I think that will be a really good program as well,” Mr McPhee said.

He said discussions on the TCRP were focused on staying positive and driving business to the affected areas.

“It’s something that I think could and will look really good, and will be worth the impact. But we’ve all got to get together as a whole community to ensure that the impacts are insignificant,” he said.

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An update to the chamber’s business awards was also on the agenda. Changes to the date and categories will be made to better align with the NSW Business Awards

Members hope the new August date and award categories will provide a more direct stepping stone from the local awards to regional and state events. A committee is working on the changes. 

“This way we make it a little easier on the awards committee, but we also make it a bit easier for the businesses to progress further afield,” Mr McPhee said.