Mayor of Liverpool Wendy Waller today announced that Liverpool City Council is ready to support local businesses get back to business in a bid to further bolster the local economy still reeling from the effects of months of lockdown.
Council’s City Economy Unit, which engaged over 1500 businesses in the Liverpool Local Government Area at the height of the lockdown period, has committed to a post-pandemic recovery program designed to stimulate business activity in the heart of the Liverpool CBD and beyond.
Mayor Waller said the post-pandemic recovery will focus on incentivising residents to support local businesses, expanding outdoor dining opportunities, addressing supply chain disruptions, and advocating for “shovel-ready” major projects and planning process improvements to the Aerotropolis region.
“We’ve been working hard to identify workable solutions that would yield a sizeable positive impact on our local economy for the long-term. We are prioritising a steady economic recovery for the Liverpool CBD above all else.
“CBDs are the engine rooms of local economies and, if supported appropriately, will help the NSW economy to recover.
“We are one of the fastest growing regions in Greater Sydney, with our Gross Regional Product totalling over $13 billion in June 2020, accounting for more than two per cent of the state’s economic activity. Putting it simply, an economically stronger Liverpool is a good outcome for the whole of NSW,” Mayor Waller said.
Recent statistics indicate this current wave of lockdown has had a more significant effect on the unemployment rate in Liverpool which has now spiked to 8.3 per cent (as of June 2021). The unemployment rate further deteriorated from 5.9 per cent recorded in June last year, following the introduction of the first lockdown in March 2020.
Mayor Waller expressed concerns about the level of unemployment in Liverpool, saying this should catapult the NSW Government into action to support local economies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In recent months Council has been working hard to secure support from the highest levels of the NSW Government to help fund major infrastructure projects which will kickstart the economic recovery journey and create more local jobs. We welcome each new announcement for support for businesses from NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet but we are calling for a bigger commitment.
“Our message has been very clear to the NSW Government that we want to work in partnership to make Liverpool one of Greater Sydney’s biggest success stories emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Waller said.
Key components of Council’s post-pandemic recovery program which will help foster local job creation include:
- Facilitating a comprehensive review of Council’s Outdoor Dining Policy with the objective to expand outdoor dining opportunities in areas that may not have previously been available for local businesses.
Developing a supply chain support program to assist local businesses impacted by pandemic-related disruptions and supply blockages. This includes establishing a regional marketplace to facilitate replacement of overseas products that may not be as readily available.
- Advocating for timely delivery of several “shovel ready” major projects to further support local job creation including the upgrade to Liverpool Hospital and Liverpool Civic Place.
- Campaigning to accelerate the servicing and finalisation of plans for the Aerotropolis giving businesses the opportunity to submit Development Applications (DAs) and establish operations in the area.
- Facilitating a campaign to incentivise and promote local businesses to reinvigorate consumer spending in the Liverpool CBD.
Despite the economic challenges facing Liverpool, a recent CBRE report found that demand for e-commerce related land areas and sites in Western Sydney, including Liverpool, is predicted to grow rapidly over the coming years.
The relatively inexpensive nature of industrial land that is both fully serviceable and strategically located near transport connections has resulted in previously vacant industrial land being purchased and occupied.
Local and multistate companies, multinational companies and institutions across transport, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, and technology have also made strategic investments in the area.
Mayor Waller said the economic recovery of Liverpool is critical not only to ensure existing local businesses survive well into the post-pandemic period, but also big business investment continues to flow freely into Liverpool.
“Many businesses have already realised the strategic advantages on offer in Liverpool. Over the coming months and years, Council will be working hard to unlock more additional land for warehousing opportunities and reduce red tape for businesses,” Mayor Waller said.
“Liverpool’s time is now and we have a bright future ahead. I’m excited by the opportunities that are on the horizon for our great city.”
