Residents meet again

By Meg Hill

CBD residents’ group EastEnders met on June 15 for the first time since lockdown began in a Zoom meeting with Lord Mayor Sally Capp and Cr Jackie Watts.

Twenty-four residents attended and were given a first-hand account by the Lord Mayor and Cr Watts of the council’s response to COVID-19.

“Sally is not only an excellent leader of our city but also a good listener to the various views of residents. We are grateful for her strong support of EastEnders and her interest and responsiveness is acknowledged with appreciation,” EastEnders President Stan Capp said.

The Lord Mayor first spoke about the council’s role during the “survival phase” of the pandemic, including support packages for small businesses, artists and for international students, and a rates hardship policy.

“Although we’ve got the smallest bucket, we did try and find the gaps and we did try and move quickly on those groups where we felt they weren’t receiving immediate support from other levels of government,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Unfortunately, in the end we disappointed more people than we delighted because we were over-subscribed to every single support package that was put in place but nonetheless, we’ve been doing the best we can.”

The Lord Mayor said the next phase was “very much about recovery and revival”.

Residents at the meeting got the chance to ask direct questions about their concerns, a chance they had missed over the past few months as meetings were cancelled.

Questions were asked regarding the controversial Job Warehouse development, Hosier Lane, homelessness and construction hours in the CBD •