A Geelong cafe owner is fighting to retain a roadside outdoor dining area after City officials demanded its removal.
Ben McLachlan, operator of The Local in Geelong, constructed the parklet on Garden Street during the COVID-19 pandemic, when regulations around such areas were relaxed.
Last Thursday council contractors arrived to remove the structure but were unable to do so after Mr McLachlan mobilised cafe supporters to conduct a sit-in at the site.
Mr McLachlan said he was at the business “by chance” at 7pm when the workers arrived.
“I then went live on Instagram and attempted to get some community support down here,” he said.
“Within about five minutes we had around 30 people down here, and we then did a little sit-in.
“About an hour and a half later the officers backed down and walked away.”
Mr McLachlan said City officers had informed him he had until 4pm Thursday to provide “relevant documentation” for the outdoor area, which he had done by 1pm that day.
But the City’s executive director of City Infrastructure James Stirton said The Local had been given more than two years to comply with the council’s safety rules and had continually failed to do so.
“The permit for The Local’s outdoor dining space expired on 31 December last year and unfortunately the City has not yet received the documentation and plans to show how the area will comply with the safety rules that will allow us to issue a permit,” he said.
“We have received some documentation from The Local, but this is not anywhere near the required standard.
“Standards are rigorous for a reason – as part of the extensive reviews conducted by the City, independent experts were consulted and they determined this area to be high risk due to its position close to the intersection.
“We can’t sit by and wait until something terrible happens, we need to take action now.”
Mr McLachlan maintained he was willing to comply with whatever the council required.
