Backing local businesses to bring their streets to life
Local economies across NSW will get a shot in the arm and communities will benefit from vibrant streets and precincts after the Minns Labor Government established a permanent framework to allow local businesses to work together to improve their infrastructure and offerings.
Legislation to make it faster and easier for local businesses to establish Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) passed NSW Parliament on Thursday.
An improvement district allows businesses to contribute to a central pot and fund projects that benefit them all and the community around them. Currently, it is possible to form a CID but the process has proven to be complex, cumbersome and slow.
The CIDs model has fostered business precincts overseas for 50 years, with one example being the Times Square Alliance in New York that is made up of 2500 local businesses that have got together to improve street amenity and coordinate activations.
Businesses generate four times more revenue in a street with an operating CID model, research has found, with businesses banding together to improve amenities like seating, lighting, street art and signage, or create unique place identities through marketing and communication.
Levies to fund agreed improvements are expected to cost between $400 and $700 approximately per business.
One of the CIDs that was supported as a pilot scheme by the Minns Labor Government is the Inner West Ale Trail that has brought together 17 independent breweries across six suburbs - Marrickville, Newtown, St Peters, Camperdown, Enmore and Rozelle – to promote the indie beer boom.
Saturday kicked off the Ale Trail’s three-weekend Inner West Country Fest, a celebration of music, food, and community that transforms the Trail into a 'free, open-door showcase of the Inner West’s creative spirit, diverse culture and good times'.
Under the Community Improvement Districts Act 2025, CIDs can raise levies without pursuing the more complex alternative of striking special rates under the Local Government Act 1993.
Individual businesses in a designated area would vote in a ballot to establish at CID. If a two-thirds majority is achieved a CID would be established and a levy introduced.
In tandem with the legislation, the second round of grants under the Community Improvement District pilot program will provide $2 million to improve Carlton Parade, Carlton;
Guildford Road, Guildford; Miller Street, Gilgandra and Clarinda Street, Parkes. The pilot funding is designed to support local businesses to coordinate, start implementing change and become self-sustaining CIDs.
The first round of pilot funding supported 10 communities with all monitored CID pilots reporting an increased average daily spend in the 12 months to February 2025 with St Mary's up $687,000; Murwillumbah up $529,000 and Randwick up $312,000.
Support for CIDs is part of the Minns Labor Government’s mission to build vibrant communities and make NSW fun again, by revitalising our main streets and bringing our night-time economy back to life.
One of the guiding principles of the government’s vibrancy agenda is recognising that local councils, businesses and community groups know what works best in their local area. Programs and legislation are designed to empower those groups to shape their precincts in a way that meets local tastes. This is resulting in different offerings, creating an exciting range of experiences across the state.
Minister for Transport, Minister for Music and the Night-Time Economy, John Graham said:
“This puts local businesses in the box seat to drive the change they want to see in their community.
“Local businesses know what their communities need to thrive. This legislation and funding will enable them to coordinate and raise money to make the enhancements their main streets and town centres need.
“This is an approach that is already working in NSW. You just need to head out and see the vibrancy at YCK Laneways, the Inner West Ale Trail, or St Marys to see it. This new legislation and a second round of funding will build on this success.
“This is part of the government’s fight to bring our night-time economy back to life. But it’s not about rebuilding the old model which was highly concentrated in Kings Cross and the CBD. This is about supporting a range of unique precincts to thrive.”