NEW business ideas such as an artisan bakery, bottle shop, increased social media ‘zing’ and a blue-sky vision to bid for a bespoke regional art gallery were some of the creative concepts put forward at a ‘Revitalise Montville’ business event hosted by the Montville Chamber of Commerce last Wednesday August 16.
The meeting was held weeks after the forced closure of the town’s only pharmacy following the closing of the only medical centre.
Businesses fear those key services could see further closures but the local chamber says that they want to be proactive and revitalise the village square precinct for locals and tourists.
Montville Chamber President Shiralee Cooper acknowledged the recent business closures had been challenging, however she welcomed the pro-active approach of local business owners to seek solutions.
“Everyone is still shocked at the departure of the pharmacy last month, and with the loss of our GP service this was a double whammy blow, especially as these were integral services to our community,” she said.
“While these were challenges, we didn’t expect, we have a lot of creative and resilient business people here – so we’ll just put our shoulder to the wheel and look to new opportunities we can make from this situation.”
Division 5 Councillor Winston Johnston said it was a credit to local businesses to be on the front foot in the face of some serious challenges. He said the areas was widely known for its creative talent and it made sense to work to those strengths.
“They have identified a problem developing and are committed to doing something about it,” he said.
“I’m keen to support Montville – the community has a reputation for being welcoming and also has a lot of tourist orientated businesses which all contribute as drawcards to the Hinterland.”
The chamber also reached out to the Sunshine Coast Council with a representative from the Economic Development Team attending the Commerce dinner.
Tim McGee, head of the Economic Development Team said he wanted to listen to local business owners and understand the challenges they faced in order to put together a response to their concerns.
“Organisations like the Montville Chamber are great for local businesses,” he said.
“A big focus of our team is to offer and encourage collaborative and network support. Once we understand the challenges, we can then offer support, discuss potential opportunities and place activation ideas,” Mr McGee said.
Ms Cooper said she was pleased to see several new business owners attend the event and was “excited to fly the flag” for their Regional Art Gallery blue sky vision project and need for a covered space in Russell Family Park to attract more events to the town.
“It was great to be able to bring some fresh ideas to the table, talk to business operators and look at new ways we can get business buzzing again,” she said.
“We’ve had a few challenges, especially over the last few years and some of our businesses are still short staffed and honestly just feeling exhausted – so it’s been great to look at how we can ignite interest back into Montville.”
