Council called out for exorbitant outdoor dining fee
With many hospitality venues on the brink of collapse, any financial assistance is welcome. However, Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council council sees things differently.
Manly’s Market Lane Café owners have been slugged a $21,000 for the year to have seats and tables outside.
Back in August the owners thanked patrons for their support: "Owning a hospitality business in the heart of Manly is not for the faint hearted," a Facebook statement read.
"So many business closures, sky high rents and other overheads but the people we see everyday make it worthwhile. It’s the genuine connections that we are truly grateful for today in our little corner of paradise.
"Thank you for supporting our independent small business in one of the toughest business environments. Talk to your favourite small business owner to see how they are coping."
Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert told Yahoo Finance that the council charge was another nail in the industry's coffin.
"It's a bit of a shock and it's a bit out of touch with the current cost of doing business and cost of living process for cafes and restaurants in New South Wales and also Australia-wide," he said.
"That is thousands of dollars a month being added to expenses for cafes to just add a few seats outside of their venue."
Market Lane’s owners erected a sign showing how much they have to pay for outdoor dining, which stunned the the community.
One person wrote "Our small businesses are closing down right, left and centre. The council should be doing all they can to support them, not be charging them exorbitant fees.
Another said: "And they wonder why there’s so many empty shops… they’re greedy."
The outlook for the industry is dire, with CreditorWatch predicting that one in every 11 Aussie hospitality venues will go under in the next 12 months and the failure rate for the industry will climb from 7.5 per cent to 9.1 per cent.
The failure rate across all industries is 5.1 per cent.
"It feels like a cash grab trying to take advantage of areas that are traditionally high tourist areas," Lambert told Yahoo Finance.
"Trying to make money off the back of small businesses isn't a good look, especially as we go into our second full year of increased interest rates and low hospitality demand and a 10 plus per cent drop in international tourists to New South Wales.
"We would expect that local councils would read the room and would understand that, at least for 2024 it's not time to be building up a surplus in their bank accounts."
Council hit back at the criticism, noting the outdoor dining fee is based on a per square meter rate determined by a third party independent valuer.
The fee has been fixed since the pandemic.
"The outdoor dining fees for commercial use of public land in the Northern Beaches Council area are comparable with other metropolitan local government areas and based on advice provided by a qualified, independent valuer," Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins told Yahoo Finance.
"In considering the recommended fee structure for use of public land, we are always mindful of promoting a balance between public access, ratepayer interests and support for commercial activity.
"Council did remove outdoor dining fees during the two years of COVID to assist businesses to survive during those turbulent times. However, as the business landscape is changing it is fair to charge for businesses making money on public land."
Jonathan Jackson, 5th November 2024
