Strengthening Small Business Consultation On Major Council Works

Brian Stockwell38:53

Okay, back on. Okay, welcome back. We're now on item 9, which is Mayoral minutes, and we do not have any of those, so we move on to section 10, and we have two notified motions. First is by Councillor Lorentson, and that is the second, and it's dealing. With strengthening small business consultation on major Council works. Councillor Lorentson.

Amelia Lorentson39:18

Notes that the Council recent. 8 note that the recent Doonella upgrade bridge highlighted an opportunity for Council to consult more effectively. With small businesses when planning and delivering major works. Requests that the Chief Executive Officer. Use the Business Round Table to explore what improved consultation. With small businesses should look like for major Council works. That and how it should be delivered. Request that the Chief Executive Officer. Report back to Council on the outcome of that engagement. Including a recommended approach. I'll take the report as read, so I'll just speak to the motion. So report read, I'll just speak to the motion. I put the motion forward because I just think that we have a real opportunity to strengthen how Council engages with small businesses when delivering major works. The motion in front of us seeks to improve communication, identify the impacts earlier and ensure that our small businesses are genuine partners in the impact planning process. Proposal has been discussed at the Business Round Table and has received support from both the CEO, the business chambers and associations, and also our EC development team. There is a shared recognition that while Council needs to deliver important infrastructure projects, we can continue to improve the way we work with businesses affected by those projects. I had also. Circular. Circulated as a discussion point a draft small business impact plan to our local business associations and the feedback again has been very positive. Businesses have welcomed the opportunity to work with Council to help shape and co-design a practical framework that reflects their needs. And experiences. The Doonella street project provided valuable lessons. It highlighted the importance of early engagement, clear communication and understanding the impacts that construction works can have on local businesses. Rather than seeing this as a problem, we should see it as an opportunity to learn and improve. This motion is not about creating more. Red tape, it's about formalising those learnings so they're not lost and can be applied consistently to future projects across the Shire. Importantly, the approach aligns with recognised industry best practice. Austroads guide to temporary traffic management, part A checklist. Identifies stakeholders. Engagement, communication and traffic management as critical components of successful project delivery. Traffic management plans tell us how vehicles and pedestrians will move around a worksite, but they do not always identify the broader impacts on nearby businesses. This motion seeks to bridge that gap. It's also important to acknowledge the good work that Council has already undertaken with the Tewantin traders and other business groups in the past month. Strong relationships are being built and this motion provides an opportunity to build that foundation and strengthen those partnerships even further. Ultimately, this is about continuous improvement. Rather than allowing the experiences and lessons from Doonella street to disappear once the project is complete, we have an opportunity to capture those learnings, incorporate them into a practical framework and work collaboratively with our business community to achieve better outcomes in the future. I believe this is a positive step forward for Council and for our businesses and for our community. And I hope that the Council will support the motion.