A SLOW decline in retail has cost Queanbeyan many of its main street stores over the years, but a handful of new businesses have set up shop, signalling confidence in the city’s CBD.

An Italian restaurant, a church, a real estate agent, a tattoo parlour and a NSW government department, are some of the new businesses occupying otherwise vacant shop fronts on Monaro Street.

The new businesses are what Queanbeyan Palerang Council (QPRC) describe as “first movers” in an expected transformation of main street trading.

“There’s a lot of pent-up demand for people to do business in Queanbeyan, and things are slowly starting to materialise,” says Martin Darcy QPRC’s business and innovation manger.

Mr Darcy says the cost of doing business in the ACT, a renewed focus on local retail, having a traditional high street and council investment in the CBD, are reasons businesses are choosing Queanbeyan’s main drag to open their doors.

With work starting next month on Queanbeyan’s $74 million civic and cultural precinct and a $16 million refurbishment of Monaro Street kicking off early next year, Mr Darcy says the “look and feel” of Queanbeyan will soon be “very different”.

“People have been wanting to see changes to the CBD for a long time, council has been very positive about signalling change, and businesses are responding,” he says.

The sentiment is echoed by Graham Baxter, CEO of the Southern Region Business Enterprise Centre (BEC) who predicts the CBD as a “strong” centre for business, in the coming years.

“In five years time Queanbeyan won’t be like it is today, it will be a much stronger business community,” Mr Baxter says.

Despite new businesses opening their doors, Mr Baxter says many are still “struggling”.

“Some are just hanging in there,” Mr Baxter says.

“This has been an issue for some time, obviously covid is effecting most businesses in some way or another, but it’s also the lack of a good pedestrian experience in Queanbeyan with semi’s plowing down the main drag.

“But all that is changing with council’s plans [and] it’s all very positive.

“The city has a bright future.”