VENDORS in the Westside container village at West Basin have until the end of April 2017 until the site closes. 

According to the Land Development Agency CEO, David Dawes, vendors will operate free of rent from January 1 until the sites closure.

The decision to close the site before winter follows the National Capital Authority’s plan, last month, to limit work approval for the site to one year, rather than the two-and-a-half years that the LDA asked for.

“While vendors will be required to pay their usual rent up until the end of their current lease on December 31 the government has decided to charge only nominal rent for the container village’s final four months at West Basin,” says Dawes.

“Our discussions with Westside vendors made it clear that while they would have preferred to stay for a few more years the majority didn’t want to continue through the slower winter months with no long-term reward at the end.

“Given the time it will take to remove the container village, vendors would only have a short period of warmer trading after winter before closing down to allow us to restore the site to its previous condition by the November 19, 2017 deadline.”

The ACT government took over operations in August 2015 after its private operator withdrew.

The government had hoped to keep the site open until mid-2019, but the limited works approval from the NCA means the site must be restored to its previous condition by November.

Keeping the village open until the end of autumn will give the vendors some time to make their post-Westside plans.  Some vendors have already secured leases outside of the village and will be moving early.

Dawes says that Westside was designed so that it could be relocated, and the government is looking for alternative locations and uses for the container village but there is no guarantee that we can find a suitable location.