Future City is about more than bricks-and-mortar upgrades to our Central Business District (CBD).
It’s also about assisting and encouraging our existing CBD businesses to build on their successes and ensure they’re taking advantage of the latest trends in technology.
Orange City Council will pay for existing CBD retailers which don’t have a website, to develop one.
Council has already sought expressions of interest from local contractors to develop websites for CBD businesses, write content, and take photographs to create a modern and engaging online presence for CBD stores.
The contractors then hand the website over to the businesses for future updating.
Council is also engaging contractors to help CBD businesses set up online sales platforms so they may take advantage of online shoppers.
Council’s Spendmapp data shows Orange residents spend $326 million per year online, but not all of that money leaves the region, which is why it is vital our local businesses have a strong online presence.
Council will work with Biz HQ to develop an expression of interest process to identify retail start-up or pop-up businesses, which would benefit from rental assistance as they kick-off.
One example may include Council purchasing shipping containers for pop-ups, where Council would allow small businesses to set up shop in the CBD, temporarily, develop a clientele and then gain enough capital to rent their own space. This concept has been trialled in a number of regional councils.
There’s also a plan to review parking time limits within the CBD and develop a permit scheme to encourage CBD workers to park away from high turnover zones.
This would free up parks within the inner blocks of the CBD for customers and create incentives for CBD workers to park in all day zones such as the Ophir car-park or the Civic Centre car-park.
Any business owner wanting to take advantage of any of these elements of Future City should register their interest with Council’s business development team on 63938000.
