Parramatta Light Rail: Church Street to suffer from plans to wipe out 70 per cent of outdoor dining
Parramatta Council and restauranteurs who have “invested blood, sweat and millions of dollars” to make Church St popular are pleading with the state government to not wipe out 70 per cent of alfresco dining on Eat St.
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Restaurateurs along one of western Sydney’s most famed ‘eat streets’ and community leaders are pleading with the Parramatta Light Rail operators to stop ‘killing’ the dining strip which is set to permanently lose 70 per cent of its outdoor dining space so trees can be planted.
Already struggling with COVID-19 and the $2.4 billion project’s construction dust and noise, the restaurants on Church St in Parramatta have discovered landscaping will result in nine out of 20 businesses being stripped of their outdoor dining licences. This will see alfresco dining plunge from 544sq m to 153sq m.
The hospitality community has the backing of Parramatta Council, which wrote a scathing letter to Transport for NSW on December 16 detailing its failure to properly engage with businesses and urged it to relocate trees to Lennox Bridge so outdoor dining could be retained.
Solutions include shade umbrellas instead of trees.
Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer slammed Transport for NSW for not adhering to its contractual agreement signed in 2018.
“What you’re (TfNSW) basically doing is killing off the best alfresco dining area of Sydney, which was very, very popular, very famous,’’ he said.
“You’re basically going to send us to near death, these people will have no outdoor tables because they’re going to have a tree in the road.
“I’m tired of the backwards and forwards of it, and I want to get to the bottom of it. Parramatta’s the loser because we won’t have outdoor dining.’’
Parramatta Liberal councillor Bill Tyrrell said projects such as the Powerhouse Museum would be squandered if outdoor dining could not be rescued.
“We have fought very hard for the Powerhouse Museum to be located on the Riverbank site, to add to patronage within the city, but the way outdoor dining is headed, we will end up with a retail street and a poor excuse for outdoor dining if anything is left,’’ he said.
“Council, restaurateurs and landlords have invested blood, sweat and millions of dollars to make Church St western Sydney’s outdoor dining destination, attracting tens of millions of dollars of business and tourism to the city.’’
Coco Cubano Cafe Parramatta manager Sagar Karki said the rail project wiped out his outdoor seating on Church St from “35, 40” tables to just 12 and said profits dived by 50 per cent since construction started.
“It’s very important for Eat St, everyone wants to eat outside,’’ he said. “It used to be full.’’
Lone Star Rib House and Brews manager Nitin Nand also emphasised how significant outdoor dining was for his restaurant at the corner of Phillip and Church streets.
“I would say it’s about 30-35 per cent of our business and right now everybody wants to sit outside because of COVID,’’ he said.
He was all “for green’’ but supported shade cloths instead of trees that would consume outdoor dining space.
Parramatta state Liberal MP Geoff Lee said there was time to save the popular outdoor dining.
“You’ve got to strike the balance between beauty and allowing these businesses to continue trading after they finish Parramatta Light Rail,’’ he said.
“I think it’s really tough on the retailers and restaurateurs. How can you sugar-coat ripping up roads and a jack hammering the roads up?’’
He dismissed businesses’ request for compensation by way of a 50 per cent rent reduction for three months and said it would only be offered if the project was running behind schedule.
“We’re building a light rail,’’ he said.
“We can’t compensate businesses for every time we build a road or a rail. People were warned years in advance.’’
A TfNSW spokeswoman said it was consulting with the council to investigate installing additional shelters in place of some trees “in a change to what was previously agreed, to ensure more space for outdoor dining’’.
“Transport for NSW recognises the importance of Parramatta’s Eat St and has worked collaboratively with council over the last five years to deliver a unified vision for the street including a revitalised dining district,’’ she said.
“TfNSW and the City of Parramatta Council have taken the time needed to get the end design right for this premier dining destination. TfNSW is eager to provide certainty to businesses and together with council looks forward to briefing businesses on the Eat St End State design.’’
TfNSW insists it has been liaising with businesses on the rail alignment and there was 21 members in its Business Reference Group.
This includes measures to boost business such as signage and the Activate Parramatta app and free parking for customers at Eat St restaurants.
By 2026, 28,000 commuters are expected to use the light rail every day, with 16,000 in the Parramatta CBD alone.
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