North Sydney Council - PLEASE support your Business Community!

‘Vivid’ is a light and entertainment festival run over 17 days in Sydney which, last year attracted half a million people to the city, enhancing community spirit and supporting business and trade operators.

On 8 April this year North Sydney Council agreed to fund the expansion of the Vivid festival to include North Sydney with a $100,000 contribution in 2013 to the over-$1million contribution being made by Destination NSW to this development. Expanding ‘Vivid’ to North Sydney would bring an estimated 350,000 visitors to our shores – to our cafes and restaurants, to Luna Park , our art galleries, small businesses one and all, and bring great economic benefit and much needed ‘life’ back to our region, especially important in the colder months and outside business hours.

Last Monday 15th April at an Extraordinary meeting, the Council rescinded this decision, denying any funding and thereby any potential for economic benefit in North Sydney. We were at the meeting and heard all the arguments as to why the Council should not participate, however, there are many better reasons for this project to be supported.

North Sydney Chamber of Commerce has written an open letter to the Councillors explaining why we think they should support Vivid – and now we are asking for your support. We believe that businesses in North Sydney LGA have been ignored for too long and that it is time that we stand up and demand to be heard.

The North Sydney Chamber of Commerce is absolutely apolitical about this – we only want the best for business in North Sydney LGA and international events such as Vivid are about much needed economic stimulation. We hope we can count on your support.

And Vivid is just the beginning - we need more and more activities of this nature and we need to tell that to Council!

If you would like Council to be more supportive of business and listen to us when we ask to be heard, please sign this petition. Time its tight for this project as we would like to present this petition to Council on Monday, so please don’t delay – and please pass this on to your business colleagues.