Emerald Chamber of Commerce Inc

Melbourne bookshop forced to close after local council received one complaint about “visual noise”

Dominic Powell / Tuesday, May 24 2016

 A Melbourne bookstore has been forced to close after one of its neighbours complained to the council about the store producing too much “visual noise”.

The complaint about St Kilda-based Bookhouse was received last August, and the City of Port Phillip Council determined the shop was operating illegally in a residential zone.

Bookhouse has been selling books and art for almost 20 years, being founded in 1997. It moved to the Robe St location in 2012.

The location has long been used for as a business premise, dating back to the 1920s when it was a milk bar.

Trading at the location could have continued if owners Ben Kemp and Margot McCartney were able to produce an ‘existing rights clause’ to prove the premises had been trading as a store for at least 15 years, without any breaks longer than two years.

However, a clothing designer occupied the location between 2009 and 2012, and the council determined the storefront was not considered an obvious shop during this time.

Speaking to SmartCompany this morning, Kemp says the nature of the complaint was the store was “visually offensive when you walk by”.

“I’m baffled, how can someone complain about ‘visual noise’ in St Kilda,” Kemp says.

Kemp hopes the council’s decision will be challenged but as the tenant, he says it is now out of his hands.

“A lot of it is in the hands of the building’s owner, but we hope he will challenge the decision,” Kemp says.

“It’s hard for us as is, bricks-and-mortar books is a tough road, and having this come up doesn’t help.”

Kemp says while the future of the physical store is uncertain, Bookhouse will continue to trade online.

“We can’t stay here and let this drag on while the lease is up in the air, we need to look elsewhere,” Kemp says.

“We’re currently focusing on reinforcing our online store.”

The store is popular with residents of the area, some of who told Fairfax the ruling is “grossly unfair.”

Long time Robe St resident and writer Bill Garner told Fairfax residents will be “very pissed off if [the store is] forced to leave.”

“It’s impossible to imagine it being offensive in any ordinary understanding of what offensive would mean,” Garner said.

Peter Strong, chief executive of the Council of Small Business of Australia, told SmartCompany the case represents a “classic problem” faced by Australian small businesses.

“We’ve got bureaucrats who are out of control, the local government hears one little complaint and thinks it’s the end of the world,” Strong says.

“We’ve got good examples of regulators who use common sense, Fair Work Ombudsman is one and we need more of them.”

Strong worries about the message these sorts of decisions send to other small businesses.

“If one person can decide if a shop stays open or not, then all businesses better become very bland and uninteresting quickly,” Strong says.

The President of the Emerald Chamber of Commerce, Victor Cominos has called for a review of the Queensland’s planning legislation. He said, “Far too often the legislation is determined by bureaucrats who are totally unfamiliar with the area and as a result they put obstacles in front of small business”. 

This story has been brought to you by the Emerald Chamber of Commerce Inc.
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