Council to bring life back to empty shops

There are currently 29 empty shopfronts in Parkes’ CBD which includes Clarinda Street (from Short Street to Bushman Street), the Big W complex, Dalton Street and the old Target building. A number that has recently grown adding to the negative perceptions residents, visitors and investors may have. As a way to improve appearance and reduce these perceptions Parkes Shire Council plans to trial a creative new initiative aimed at revitalizing the town’s CBD by visually transforming empty shopfronts. The program, endorsed at the October council meeting, will use temporary visual treatments to improve the appearance of vacant premises. The trial which has been allocated up to $3000, will focus on one priority location in the Parkes CBD, and two display options are being considered. Vinyl wraps, which will cover windows with vibrant, weather resistant graphics and pull-up banners, which are portable and reusable displays placed inside shopfronts. The vinyl wrap is estimated to cost $3000 for a 7.2m glass shopfront and the cost for several pull-up banners is estimated to be $1720. These estimated costs do not include the removal (vinyl wrap only), artwork creation, cleaning, set-up labour (pull-up banner) and evaluation and feedback collections. The costs to implement the trial will be allocated from council's Economic Development budget. Economic Development Specialist Hamish Ritchie, who authored the proposal said the initiative is a practical step toward enhancing the town’s presentation, while supporting broader goals of attracting visitors, residents and investors. “Empty shopfronts can give the impression of decline,” Hamish explained. “This trial is about showing that Parkes is a vibrant, welcoming place – even while we work on longer-term solutions.” The idea was supported by councillors with Mayor Neil Westcott noting he would love to see something done with the ANZ Bank building which is deteriorating in the middle of the main street. He said council has wanted to see that fixed for some time. The visual activation aligns with council’s goal of making the Parkes Shire an attractive destination to live, work, visit and invest. It also aims to support local retail and tourism by improving the look and feel of the main street. While the benefits include improved aesthetics, support for place branding and minimal landowner commitment, the report tabled at the council meeting also acknowledged concerns. These include the use of public funds on private buildings, the risk of rewarding neglect and the possibility that cosmetic improvements may mask deeper economic challenges. Council will assess the effectiveness of the trial through community feedback and a follow-up report. If successful, the program could expand to include more shopfronts and evolve into a broader strategy for a CBD revitalisation.