April Member Meet-Up

On Thursday 20th of April GIBC in collaboration with the Highlands Hub and Glen Innes Severn Council (GISC) hosted the first of many Member Meet-Ups!

Starting with nibbles and drinks, guests - who were a mix of new members and prospective members - were able to explore The Highlands Hub while networking with other business owners, GISC executives and workshop facilitator Ian Mason.

To begin the formal part of the evening President Cass Hill welcomed everyone and introduced Ian, who is experienced in running workshops to help small business owners. Most notably, Ian was involved in the creation of Virgin StartUp – a company that provides business support to entrepreneurs and SMEs to start and scale their business ideas.

Ian then took the stage introducing our panel for the evening:

·       General Manager - Bernard Smith

·       Department of Corporate and Community Services - Anna Watt

·       Department of Place and Growth - Gayleen Burley

·       Department of Infrastructure Services - Keith Appleby

Each of the panel were given the opportunity to talk about their career journey, how they got into local government and the areas each director looks after. You can check out their expansive portfolios here - https://www.gisc.nsw.gov.au/Council/Council-Structure

Ian then asked a series of questions about their biggest challenges. Gayleen spoke about her desire to change the culture within council relating to processes like Development Applications. DA’s can often be a barrier for businesses and residents, and by working collaboratively with the community it will speed up the process of getting them actioned.

As GM Bernard’s focus was to act as a facilitator for increasing the presence of Glen Innes as a Township. The topic of “sticky spaces” where people like to linger, and spend more time was a topic of much discussion.

Tara Joy, from the Glen Innes Examiner described her most recent experience of her extended family visit Glen Innes. Initially they were attracted to the main street of Glen Innes where “Free Town Wifi” is advertised. Upon reaching the main street, and finding limited options open they decided to head to Inverell where there was more shopping and dining options. This is a prime example of economic leakage, something business owners and councillors alike would like to limit.

Creating “sticky spaces” really encompasses increasing the beautification, functionality and business options in a small town. It is about creating a destination, where visitors and locals alike will spend time, and in turn money within a township. Bernard also clarified that beautification does not necessarily entail large infrastructure works, but rather enhancing and maintaining assets which we already have.

Ian also opened up to the audience to get a gauge of the barriers and challenges that small business owners are facing in Glen Innes. Many responses from the audience mirrored those challenges raised by council – better direction of people to the main street through signage, highlighting the assets we have (like the heritage facades), DA’s and land use allocations – were discussed at length. 

Another hot topic, was the lack of a “one stop shop” for what is happening at Glen Innes. As in many small communities, there are a lot of events and initiatives that go unnoticed or under advertised. ‘Glen Innes Highlands’ has done a great job, especially in the area of tourism and “what’s on for travellers” but there is still a gap for the smaller events that locals might be interested in, for example car boot sales, creative workshops or association fundraisers.

Cass Hill fielded this question with a proposal for the “Glen Shire Collective” online platform. Still very much a work in progress, this initiative will provide GIBC with an online presence that supports Business-to-Consumer relationships. It will allow the chamber to promote what is happening locally to a wider audience and specifically focus on products, services and events that are offered by businesses and associations to consumers. GIBC is still in the grass-roots stage of this proposal, so keep an eye out for updates in the coming months.

Overall, the evening was a positive experience centred around discovering challenges and constructive discussion about what would help businesses owners in the councils’ efforts to better Glen Innes. We look forward to hosting a similar panel in future to catch up on the progress made by the Glen Innes Council’s executive committee.