Eateries steer clear of Darwin council’s scheme to transform carparks into al fresco dining areas

Almost halfway through a year-long city activation trial, not one business has applied for a council parklet permit to transform parking spaces into expanded outdoor dining areas.

Good Thanks co-owner Alex James, Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis and alderman Mick Palmer welcomed the start of a Darwin council scheme in July 2019 allowing eateries with car parks out the front to use the space for al fresco dining. But five months on, not one business has applied for a permit through the initiative. Picture: Keri Megelus

• Darwin city carparks to transform into outdoor dining areas

NOT one business has applied for a parklet permit in the five months since Darwin council launched the city activation initiative.

The 12-month trial, endorsed by council in October, would see fees waived for use of parking spaces to expand dining areas for restaurants and cafes.

A parklet permit would help activate the CBD through cafes and restaurants converting parking bays in front of their venues into additional outdoor seating.

But almost halfway through the trial, little interest has been shown in the initiative, which is free provided businesses meet the minimum spend on design and provision of outdoor dining.

Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce said parklets weren’t accessible enough.

“Any business wanting to participate that sells alcohol has to jump through several red tape hurdles and faces costs associated with ‘building’ the parklet,” he said.

“Council made clear they would not be assisting in the facilitation of a smooth process with regard to liquor licensing decisions.”

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A number of other costs would come at the expense of the venue as well, including installation and possible legal fees.

Mr Bruce said the state of the industry could also be having an impact on why businesses wouldn’t yet be embracing parklets.

“There has been a downturn in our industry with many venues doing it tough,” he said.

“The focus at the moment has been to control costs and fill current space rather than spend money expanding capacity.”

He said the appetite for parking was often greater than that for an outdoor feed, particularly when venues weren’t filling up anyway.

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A council spokeswoman said the wet season may have affected interest and council hoped to see more uptake.

“At this stage the permit requests to utilise parklets have been minimal. This may change during the dry season,” she said.

“City of Darwin is considering a number of options to encourage uptake of the parklet initiative, which would require a decision from council.”