Furore over Clover’s ‘Disney-fication’ of ‘edgy’ Potts Point
Clover Moore’s plan to rejuvenate Potts Point has infuriated locals, with one slamming the plan as ‘the nail in the coffin’ for businesses and another denouncing it as ‘Disney-fying’ the area.
NSW
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Who knew a footpath could stir up such a cement truckload of anger?
Well, that’s just what’s happened in Potts Point, where a multimillion-dollar plan to rejuvenate the area with flag poles and a new widened footpath has been met with fury from local businesses who have slammed the timing and the scale of the proposed works.
The Macleay St works were voted in by nine of the 10 Sydney City Councillors, including Dr Kerryn Phelps, who happens to live in the area.
The plans are part of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s vision to create a more village-like atmosphere in the gritty suburb with “planting, seating, lighting and improved footpath treatments” to create “a sense of belonging”.
But the proposal has upset local shop owners, who say the months of construction on the back of the lockout laws and a COVID-19 shutdown will just further cripple business.
Bradford Studio interior design owner Neil Bradford shut his doors this week, declaring the footpath “the nail in the coffin”. He will now run his business from home.
“Bushfires affected people going out, then the coronavirus. The footpath was the last straw,” he said.
“They keep talking about creating a village-like atmosphere. If I wanted village atmosphere, I’d go live in Gordon. I chose to live in Potts Point because it is edgier.”
Potts Point & Kings Cross Heritage & Residents’ Society president Andrew Woodhouse said the timing was wrong and plans needed to be redesigned.
“The problem with cement is it’s extremely hot underfoot,” he said.
“It would be nice to have mosaic and murals like at Bondi or high-quality pavements like in Paddington. We get nothing. As well as that, there will be flag poles. It’s Disney-fying the street.”
Mr Woodhouse said the latest plans did not reflect the feedback from three community meetings.
Councillor Christine Forster, who voted against the works, thinks the council should have waited for businesses to recover.
“Businesses have been brought to their knees with COVID-19,” she said.
Ms Moore said the staged upgrade would make the “well-loved street” safer and more attractive for locals and visitors, “bringing business to the area” while creating jobs and economic stimulus. The council would “talk regularly with businesses owners and residents,” she said.
COVID EXPRESS
A phone call from the office of newly-installed Victorian Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll to the office of NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance last week may go some way to explaining why our southern neighbours are suddenly in the grip of a second wave of COVID-19.
A Macquarie Street mole says the call was made on Tuesday with a staffer in Carroll’s office asking his NSW counterpart why the XPT “was not stopping at Broadmeadows”.
It’s understood the Constance staffer politely explained how the express train was bypassing its usual stop as it had been identified as a “COVID hot spot”.
BEER BOOST
Former Libs powerbroker Michael Kroger and ex-PM Tony Abbott were spotted catching up for a cold one last week to no doubt chat about their glory days.
And what was their coldie of choice? A Colonial Brewing Co beer of course — the WA brewer that found itself at the centre of a recent cancel culture row after a liquor chain pulled its beers from their shelves after concerns were raised about its name.
“A good drop with a great man. Hang in their Colonial (sic),” Mr Kroger posted on Facebook as a message of support for the troubled brewer.
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Originally published as Furore over Clover’s ‘Disney-fication’ of ‘edgy’ Potts Point