Northern Beaches Council writes off Manly restaurant’s debt after owners fled
Northern Beaches Council has written off $37,000 in debt owed by the owners of long-running Manly restaurant Watervue who vanished back in 2016.
The decision was made after council officers were unable to track down the owners who vanished three years following a dispute with Northern Beaches Council over unpaid rent.
The money owed was related to the company’s outdoor eating licence which was supposed to be paid monthly, but after “numerous correspondence” regarding non-payment the council decided to cancel its outdoor dining licence in July 2016.
The council then “escalated to legal action” before the company went into liquidation, leaving the Corso eatery abandoned with black plastic bags over the windows.
“All reasonable recovery actions have been undertaken by council to secure payment of the listed debt,” officers said in a report to councillors.
“It would be uneconomical and an inefficient use of council resources to continue to pursue this debt.
“Based on past experience and other major claims, council’s debt collection agency advised that did not feel that this debt can be recovered,” the council report read.”
Sheridan Randall, 10th September 2019
