Bayswater council approve concession to rates for businesses struggling after years of Metronet construction

Bayswater councillors went back to the drawing board after local businesses were angered over a proposed 8.6 per cent hike in rates despite still trying to recover from years of disruptions due to train station construction. After a long deliberation, Bayswater council approved rates at Tuesday night’s meeting with an increase of 7.4 per cent for commercial buildings with businesses in the Bayswater town centre getting a further concession on their rates. An increase of 3.8 per cent was approved for residents, which was slightly higher than the previously advertised 3.45 per cent hike. The first proposed commercial rate hike of 8.6 per cent was heavily opposed by retailors, mainly in the Bayswater town centre, with many claiming the massive increase would send their businesses broke. “After all the Metronet station works for four years as traders we are yet to recover from all this disruption … How can this be approved after all our disruption and loss of customers? This is another spike in our coffins to kill Bayswater traders,” one business owner said. Another said they had a decrease in turnover of 40 per cent since the development of the train station began and did not know how they would pay more rates. The Bayswater Traders Association advocated on behalf of businesses in the Bayswater Town Centre that it was opposed to the rates. “Customer patronage has not increased to anywhere near pre-construction levels and many businesses are struggling to operate day to day,” a spokesman said. “An 8.6 per cent increase in council rates would impose further hardship on these struggling businesses and ones that are barely viable now may close. This is not the time to increase council rates on small family businesses and the BTA are totally opposed to the proposal.” These submissions prompted an alternative motion to be moved to give the 31 businesses in the Bayswater town centre that have been significantly impacted by Metronet works a concession on their rates meaning owners will pay a 3.8 per cent increase instead of 7.4 per cent. “Of those that did not support rates, over 70 per cent of those objections were specific to businesses in Bayswater town centre due entirely to financial hardship experienced due to State Government Metronet works in Bayswater,” Mayor Filomena Piffaretti said. “This provides the best and lowest outcome for both these businesses and our residents.” However, Cr Nat Latter said the concession did not address the “fundamental inequity” in the rates proposed. “There is a small increase on residential rates and there is a really large increase on commercial rates, it just creates a really inequitable position,” she said. “Hiking up commercial rates creates a disincentive to open a new business in this area and it may contribute to businesses closing or moving. “There are so many benefits of thriving commercial areas … at the same time businesses don’t use many of the services that make up our budget so I cannot see equitable justification for disproportionately taxing them.” Deputy Mayor Elli Peterson-Pik proposed an amendment to the alternative motion, which would reduce the rate for all businesses in the City instead of just the town centre. This was passed by a majority of councillors meaning the commercial rate hike changed to 7.4 per cent and the residential rates increased to 3.8 per cent. Cr Dan Bull, who was against the motion, said he still thought there was a better way to deliver a lower rate. “At the end of the day this is still cross subsidising to have a rate rise that is still really high,” he said. “This still doesn’t quite get us there, bringing that uniform rate down is actually more prudent.” The motion to give Bayswater town centre businesses a concession on their rates was also passed with six councillors for and Cr Sally Palmer, Cr Latter, and Cr Bull against. Vacant commercial lots were hit with a rate rise of 34.98 per cent and vacant residential lots will have an increase of 19.37 per cent in a bid to encourage development. The rates for 2024/25 will be officially approved once it is given ministerial approval by the Department of Local Government.