Death by upgrade: Broadbeach traders rue another street closure

A FED-UP Broadbeach retailer is accusing council of half-measures as a budget blowout hits the final stage of the dining precinct’s street upgrade.

Councillor Paul Taylor on the Broadbeach beautification project: “We are tight on the budget — it’s come up to $5 million now — but there is no way we have run out of money.” Photo: Jerad Williams

FURIOUS business owners along Broadbeach’s main drag are accusing council of half-measures as a budget blowout hits the dining precinct’s street upgrade.

The Gold Coast City Council’s beautification of Surf Parade — which traders claim has slugged trade 30 to 75 per cent due to disruptive works since August — has gone $500,000 over budget.

Works restarted last week after a Christmas break and fed-up owners are now claiming a council official has told them they have run out of money for finishing touches.

Bootleg Juice Bar owner Anthony Bootleg said an official showed him how concrete upgrades on the public part of the footpath would be matched on the private side by grey paving paint.

Bootleg Juice Bar owner Anthony Bootleg, posing on Surf Parade last year, wasn’t happy about a 30 per cent plus drop in trading since council's major upgrade started — now he’s fuming at a plan to using paving paint on the private side of the footpath to match new concreting on the public side. Photo: Jerad Williams

“They’ve done the rounds with a sheet of fibro and paving paint and told us ‘We’ve run out of money’,” he said.

“On council-owned land they are going to have cut pavers, new concrete. Anything under the Phoenician awning, which is private, will be rolled grey paving paint to match.

“All they can afford is a $20 tin of paint from Bunnings.”

Neighbouring clothing boutique Uniqi owner Nicky Nelson said she was shown the same option and was shocked after “so much drama”.

Broadbeach business owners Anthony Bootleg from Bootleg Juice Bar, Nicky Nelson of Uniqi clothing boutique, Troy MacHalek, the assistant manager of Bin 89, and Kent Skeen of Axis restaurant are furious after months of disruptive council street upgrades which are now running $500,000 over budget and they claim are resulting in an inadequate finish. Photo: Regi Varghese

“We’re having to suck it up for a year and now they’re cutting corners where we are going to benefit,” she said.

Broadbeach area councillor Paul Taylor admitted the $4.5 million project’s budget was running over by $500,000 and “we are tight in the budget”.

“Most people say we can’t see where that extra money’s gone but it was mostly underground on the telecommunications, water, sewerage,” he said.

But Cr Taylor disputed pavers or new concrete were promised for the private part of the footpath to match public upgrades.

Councillor Paul Taylor has stuck up for impacted traders during the disruptive Broadbeach upgrade but says it was an assumption by traders there would be new tiling on the private part of the footpath to match the public side work: “But we cannot do any work on the private property using ratepayers money. It will be painted grey on the private side.” Photo: Jerad Williams

“We cannot do any work on the private property using ratepayers money,” Cr Taylor said. “It will be painted grey on the private side otherwise it would be grey and terra cotta which would look terrible.

“(But) there is no way we have run out of money.”

Cr Taylor, who had successfully lobbied councillors for an extra $100,000 to speed up work, said his council had done all it could to ease pain for traders, including providing al fresco dining tax relief.

“We looked after them,” he said. “Council has done a really good job.”

LJ Hooker Gold Coast’s Anna Tooma, who manages most of the properties along the affected stretch, said the footpath proposal was “disappointing” and she was concerned about “durability” and ongoing liability for maintenance falling to property owners.

“They are not delivering what they intimated,” she said. “They have undertaken all this work and severely impacted retailers on the premise there was going to be substantial improvement for the dining precinct.

“People are feeling short-changed.”

The second stage of the project is scheduled for completion by May.