Now is the time to invest in Lismore and its future as the latest audit of the CBD reveals empty business premises are getting harder to find.
Conducted in the week beginning 17 June, Lismore City Council's audit of shopfront and upstairs premises in the Central Business District showed that despite increasing cost of living pressures across the nation, more businesses are opening in Lismore.
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said the latest results showed that Lismore was back in business.
"It was always going to be slow increases once we hit 70% occupancy but to reach an impressive 76.8% by June 2024 is great news – and that doesn't include shops like Trident Fish & Grill and others that have opened since," he said.
"And with the Workers' Club soon to reopen, it really is the time to invest in Lismore before it becomes more competitive."
Mayor Krieg said this Council was committed to creating the right conditions to attract more business investment in the city. Recent supported events like the Lismore Lantern Parade attracted an estimated 32,000 people throughout the day and evening, creating an economic impact of almost $2 million.
Recent SpendMapp data is also signalling growth in both visitation numbers and spend in our business centres and across the local government area.
Total spending was up 10% in the CBD in May, compared to the same time last year. This consisted of a 20.9% increase in dining and entertainment, a 9.6% jump to professional services, a 1.8% increase in general retail and a 2.3% increase in food retail.
Across the LGA, total spend jumped 6.3% and there was a 7.9% increase in the visitor local spend when compared to the same period last year.
The Lismore CBD Audit assesses the occupancy rates of central portions of Keen, Molesworth, Woodlark, Conway, Magellan and Carrington streets. Below are the street-by-street occupation rates at June 2024 compared with December 2023:
- Keen Street occupancy rate – 82.4% (up from 81.1%)
- Magellan Street occupancy rate – 81.7% (up from 76.3)
- Conway Street occupancy rate – 77.3% (up from 72.1%)
- Carrington Street occupancy rate – 77.3% (up from 73.1)
- Molesworth Street occupancy rate – 77.0% (up from 74%)
- Woodlark Street occupancy rate – 65.1% (up from 60.7%)
Lismore CBD occupation rate was 90.2% in late February 2022, just prior to the natural disaster.
The latest CBD audit is the fifth audit since then, with previous audits undertaken in December, June and January 2023 and August 2022.
