Clinic owner raises business fears amid car park sale debate

A Nambour health practitioner has warned the proposed sale of a central car park could have serious impacts on patient access and local businesses.

Steele Anderson, director of Absolute Health Chiropractic & Physiotherapy, said the Howard Street car park was critical to the operation of his clinic and others in the area.

“As a medical clinic owner/practitioner in Nambour, I rely on the Howard Street car park for my staff and my patients, many of whom attend for injury and health treatment and cannot reasonably park at a distance,” Mr Anderson said.

“I am one of many local business owners who have raised this concern, and parking availability in Nambour has been an ongoing issue for years.”

Mr Anderson said the potential loss of the car park had heightened concern among business owners already dealing with limited parking in the town centre.

The proposal, which involves selling the Sunshine Coast Council-owned site for affordable housing, has triggered strong community reaction, including a growing petition of about 1000 signatures opposing the move.

Concerns have centred on the loss of accessible parking, particularly for people attending nearby health services and businesses reliant on convenient customer access.

The issue is expected to remain a key point of debate during council’s consideration of the proposal in the coming weeks. A decision on the proposed sale was deferred, last week, for eight weeks following community blowback.

Mr Anderson’s business has been serving the community since 2014.

“Our clinic is a Chiropractic & Physiotherapy clinic. We employee 10 staff. We have three to five staff on at once and serve more than 60 patients per day, which is why this carpark is essential, for us and all the other surrounding businesses.”

• Sign the petition at http://www.change.org/.../save-howard-street-car-park...

Mr Anderson's letter follows ...

Robbing Peter to pay Paul ... without that carpark businesses will crumble

Running a small business is hard. The long hours, the tight margins, the responsibility to your staff and clients. The last thing any small business owner needs is for the people elected to represent them to make that burden heavier.

And yet, that is exactly what Sunshine Coast Council is proposing to do.

Council is voting on the permanent sale of the Howard Street car park to Coast2Bay Housing Group.

No community consultation. No replacement plan.

Their own report confirms zero community engagement before the vote was scheduled, yet states there are "no foreseeable risks”.

Tell that to the small business owners of Nambour. The business owners who are parents, providers for their families, who are about to be kicked in the guts.

This is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Removing an essential public service to provide another is not a solution. It is a trade-off the community never agreed to and will live with permanently.

As the Director of Absolute Health Chiropractic and Physiotherapy, my patients attend for injury rehabilitation, chronic pain management, post surgical rehab and disability.

They cannot park three streets away and walk. The Howard Street car park is not a convenience for them. It is access to healthcare.

And I am not alone. Parking has been a known, unresolved complaint from Nambour business owners for years. This decision makes it significantly worse.

There are other surrounding businesses who solely depend on that car park, without it, their businesses will crumble.

And the problems do not end at the car park itself. During construction, trades will occupy whatever limited parking remains for months, possibly years.

Once built, the development will likely be approved with just one car space per dwelling. With approximately 65 residences, that pushes a significant number of additional vehicles onto streets that are already at capacity. We are not solving a parking problem.

We are creating a much larger one.

Meanwhile, Council spends millions in ratepayer funds on land assets that sit largely dormant. Dormant assets sit untouched while a functioning public car park is sold off.

We have seen state and local government celebrate collaboration on community projects across the region, yet when it comes to a controversial decision that locals are actively opposing, that same collaborative spirit is nowhere to be found.

Nambour has already watched businesses leave. Long-standing operators have relocated to Birtinya and Maroochydore. Council moved its own chambers out of Nambour. Many of those voting on this matter do not live, work, or shop here. How can they understand what is at stake for those of us who do?

The right outcome is simple. Vote no. Consult the community. Deliver housing for Nambour without tearing the heart out of the town to do it.

– Steele Anderson, Director, Absolute Health Nambour Chiropractic & Physiotherapy

• Sign the petition at http://www.change.org/.../save-howard-street-car-park...