Boutique owner warns of ‘hard decisions’ if CBD car park is lost

LDL Boutique owner Suzanne King: “Bottom line is the car park has to stay.”

A Nambour boutique owner says the proposed sale of the Howard Street car park could push small businesses to the brink, warning it would make it “super hard” for customers to shop locally.

LDL Boutique owner Suzanne King, who opened her store two years ago, said convenient parking was essential for the survival of independent retailers in the town centre. “Nambour has very few carparks as it is, so my business will be impacted by not having a car park close to the CBD,” she said. “Customers will be deterred and find it super hard to find a park. Shopping and supporting local businesses therefore goes out the door.”

Ms King said the reality of trading in Nambour was already shaped by limited parking, with the situation often affecting her own ability to open on time. “The parking situation in Nambour is huge. Even I as a business owner has no carpark,” she said. “I put it out to the universe each day to help me find a park. I’m often late opening as I struggle to find a spot in the CBD.”

She said the loss of the Howard Street facility would compound those challenges at a time when businesses were already under pressure. “With times the way they are right now, and then this park being taken away, my business would struggle more and would actually cause me to make some very hard decisions on my foreseeable future,” she said.

Ms King said the issue went beyond individual businesses, urging councillors to consider the broader community impact. “Let’s look at the whole community and the impact it has on the vulnerable, the elderly, the business owners,” she said. “Bottom line is the car park has to stay.”

She said Nambour’s growth and future investment would only increase demand for accessible parking. “We are not getting smaller,” she said. “Young families, elderly couples and so many other people are committed to Nambour… we need the CBD to accommodate for us all.”

Ms King said the strength of community opposition reflected how critical the issue had become. “Community matters and our community is strong, so that’s why we are united on this subject,” she said.