Are Bega Valley Shire CBDs dying after fires and a pandemic?
The Bega Valley Shire endured “three years of hell” – are CBDs in their towns dying as a result?
The South Coast News
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Are south coast CBDs (central business districts) dying?
It’s a question worth asking after businesses from Eden to Nowra have suffered through three years of fires, floods and lockdowns.
This series of articles will attempt to answer this question, looking at businesses in towns along the south coast, speaking to business chambers and business owners to find out how towns are coping after “years of hell”.
Here is how towns in the Bega Valley Shire are managing.
Eden:
Eden is the closest New South Wales town to the Victorian border and as a result, 50 per cent of their tourists come from the state.
Eden Business Chamber President, Eric Wolske, said the Victorian Covid-19 lockdown was hard for the town.
“It was eight weeks of the tourism industry suffering in this town,” he said.
Reminiscing on the hard times, Mr Wolske said he still remembered seeing tourists all get the same text message one night stating they needed to be back in Victoria by 12am or they would not be allowed in.
“The roads were gridlocked,” he said.
“People dropped everything, they didn’t even pack everything so that they could get home.”
However, the situation didn’t end up being as dire as it could have been.
According to Mr Wolske, in a strange turn of events, businesses managed to grow in the time.
“I’m not sure how, but a lot of businesses used the time to grow and work on their models,” he said.
As of January 2023, the CBD in Eden is full of prospering shops, with only two storefronts up for lease.
Business owners in Eden are continuing to thrive, with Sam Godfrey, owner of the clothing store “Sammy’s Simply Irresistible” saying business for her has been booming.
“Tourists are back in the town and they will come in, have a look and buy things,” she said.
“It’s not as dire as people may think it is.”
Despite the comeback after lockdown, the hospitality industry continues to suffer.
Mr Wolske believes it is a result of staff shortages.
“There’s not a single business in this town that doesn’t need workers,” he said.
Development applications are in place for apartment blocks to be built in order to allow more people to move into the area, but Mr Wolske said if they weren’t affordable, staff shortages would remain a problem.
As it stands now, the tourist town is thriving, with cruise ships returning; however, according to Mr Wolske, staff shortages “will hurt our town if not dealt with”.
“No, the CBD is not dying,” he said.
“But we need more staff and without more staff, there could end up being a problem.”
Merimbula:
Similarly to Eden, Merimbula suffered as a result of the lockdown.
According to Merimbula Business Chamber Chair, Nigel Ayling, the 2019 Tathra Fires, 2020 Black Summer Fires, floods and pandemic nearly ruined the town.
“It was three years of hell,” he said.
“In 2020, we had 25 storefronts up for lease.”
However, in a remarkable turn of events, the town came back stronger than ever.
“In 2023, we now have four,” he said.
“Merimbula is a tourist town and, with people coming back, businesses are thriving.”
Major development applications are in place to expand the housing in the town with three major apartment complexes set to be built.
The 2021 census stated Merimbula had a population of 3000. However, with more individuals moving into regional areas from the city, this is expected to change.
While Mr Ayling said the apartments would assist with staff shortages, some residents were not thrilled.
“This is Merimbula, not Surfers Paradise,” Michael Shultz, a resident said.
“Yes, I get we are a tourist town, but can’t we just stay as a tourist town?”
However, one possible controversial development could hurt businesses who have just recovered.
The main business strip in Merimbula on Market Street could soon be demolished and rebuilt as a five storey building, closing more than 17 businesses for a period of time.
The proposed building would house retail on the bottom apartments on the top.
Mr Ayling said it had been “devisive”.
“No one wants it to be five storeys,” he said.
Discussions with local council have taken place to have the proposal pushed back to a three-storey building, but nothing has been confirmed.
Some businesses along Market Street said the construction, if it occured, would hurt them.
“I don’t know how they’re going to do it,” Sharon McKill from Swannies Clothing Co. said.
“So many businesses are going to have to find somewhere else to go.
“We will have to close and it’s a massive shop, there would be no shops in the area to fit all our stock and a lot of staff will be without work.”
Despite this, Mr Ayling said Merimbula is a success story and the town is “not dying”.
“We’re far from dying,” he said.
“This town is growing and, while there are some growing pains, the future is bright for Merimbula.”
Bega:
Staff shortages, Covid-19 and fires have hurt Bega.
Multiple shops along the main strip bare ‘For Lease’ signs, however Bega Business Chamber President, John Watkin, said it wasn’t a “bad thing”.
“It’s good for towns to have some empty businesses,” he said.
“It means new businesses can come in.
“One shop goes and another opens, that’s just the business life cycle.”
Unlike Eden and Merimbula, Mr Watkin said Bega was a “service town”, not a tourist destination.
“We have the big hospital, a big Telstra store, Bega Cheese,” he said.
Staff shortages have hit the town hard, with the hospitality industry “on its knees”.
The local club no longer serves dinners due to staff shortages.
“They do lunches but they’re down a head chef, so they just can’t do dinners,” Mr Watkin said.
Multiple housing developments are occurring in Bega which Mr Watkin hopes will ease the issue.
Aged Care in Bega is suffering as a result of staff shortages too, with some companies in Bega renting houses for staff to live in just so they will move into the town.
“I don’t think I would consider Bega’s CBD to be dying, but these politicians need to pull their fingers out and do something about housing, otherwise Bega and every other CBD along the south coast will die,” Mr Watkin said.
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