It’s great outdoors

The creation of welcoming communal spaces to cater for outdoor dining and trading in townships across the Bass Coast has been warmly embraced by operators, residents and holiday makers over the summer holiday season.

Dining areas which appeared over summer on footpaths, roadways and spare land have created vibrant open spaces in local townships, and are being hailed in the main as a great success.

The initiative was facilitated prior to the holiday season by Bass Coast Shire Council, as a means of assisting hospitality businesses affected by Covid social distancing regulations, and limits on customer numbers indoors, to maximise opportunities presented by the influx of visitors over the holiday season.

Teresa Mahood, Acting Manager of the Bass Coast Shire’s Investment and Visitor Economy has overseen the creation of the new outdoor spaces over the past few months.

“Since the initiative was announced by the state government last year, it has been warmly embraced by both traders and the community,” Teresa said.

“The initiative was designed to encourage outdoor dining given restrictions were based on indoor density limits, and more people were permitted to dine outside.”

Planning commenced back in September, with local traders and representative groups working with Teresa and her team to implement the project in time for Christmas.

A whole town approach was taken, with Cowes, San Remo, Inverloch, Wonthaggi and Grantville traders and groups participating in the planning stage. Teresa said townships had worked well together looking at where public space could be activated for the purpose of outdoor dining. Options included extending out on to footpaths, and even in front of shops neighbouring local eateries.

“A lot of people worked with supportive neighbours to achieve this,” she said.

Local parklets and taking over of car parking spaces were also in the mix. Facilitation depended on factors including land levels and road safety consideration. Part of the Cowes Esplanade was declared a one-way thoroughfare in places. A’Beckett Street in Inverloch became entirely one way.

Teresa said the spaces were created only on council owned or managed land, and the feedback over summer has been “really good.”

From her perspective, working with the community meant asking: “What are the needs. How can we help. We then trial it. We tweak it. Our focus is, how do we make this work.”

“What the project achieved in the end was to enable many thousands of additional people to be seated and enjoy a meal or drink, which would not have been possible under Covid restrictions otherwise.”

And happily, Teresa adds, it created an extra holiday vibe in the streets, which has been enthusiastically noted by residents and visitors alike.

“San Remo looks quite beautiful, with the areas that have been created there,” Teresa commented.

The one problem for traders has been trying to find extra staff, to cater for the additional numbers at their premises. But after the Covid lockdown, that’s a challenge everyone is happy to deal with.

Costs

Cost of implementing the outdoor dining initiative was borne by the state government.

“The State Government provided $250,000 directly to council, and every bit of this has been spent,” said Theresa.

“Traders were also able to apply for a grant.”

While council facilitated the creation of space, traders were responsible for their own furnishings. Road spaces were checked on a daily basis.

“Local businesses were used to help manage this,” Theresa said.

She singled out Over the Top Events and Event Operations, for the work they had put in to the success of the initiative.

“They have been awesome,” she commented.

Teresa believes that the initiative has made “a real difference” to participating traders. It has certainly increased their ability to trade while abiding by seating limits and social distance restrictions.

Currently, plans are for the outdoor spaces to remain in place until Easter in Cowes. At Inverloch, they will wind up at the end of January.

But it is up for assessment.

“We have committed to after Easter in Cowes, but traders may want to pull back earlier,” said Teresa.

Traders approve

Speaking on the weekend, Jonathon Bentley, of G’Day Tiger, reflected the views of most traders when he said that the outdoor space areas created had been embraced by users, and he was delighted with the success of these.

Lois Gaskin, proprietor of Turn the Page in Cowes, says she enjoys a coffee seated in the sunshine at the outdoor tables, as do many others.

The access laneway from Thompson Avenue through to a rear parking lot adjacent to G’Day Tiger was transformed into a pleasant, verdant outdoor dining space; and was used by patrons of many businesses in Thompson Avenue, Jonathon said.

He raised the possibility of the space remaining permanently, such is its popularity.

It would still provide a walkway for shoppers from Thompson Avenue back to their vehicles parked in the car park at the rear, which could be just as easily accessed by vehicles from Warley Avenue.

Vehicles driving across the busy Thompson Avenue footpath to the car park is not ideal, said Jonathon, who has witnessed a few near misses.