STREET furniture fixed permanently into the footpath of Vincent Street last week has outraged Daylesford residents but gained support from the Hepburn Shire Council and local business and traders' group.
The four rectangular tables with benchseats either side were placed outside Frangos and Frangos, next to Hepburn Shire Town Hall, over the Australia Day weekend, sparking immediate controversy among ratepayers.
One Hepburn Shire resident who wished to remain anonymous said: "Why do we think it's necessary to bring St Kilda to Daylesford? Just stay in St Kilda if that's what you want."
Another resident said disabled and frail visitors would be unable to get out of coaches in front of the facilities. "They are a good idea but a bad design."
Another concerned local asked why council was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of ratepayers' money on plans to revitalise the street if they just allowed business owners to make their own arrangements.
Hepburn Shire acting interim CEO, Evan King, said two permits were obtained for street furniture in mid-2011; one for Koukla and one for Frangos and Frangos.
Mr King said that council regulations for fixing permanent infrastructure to the streetscape of Hepburn Shire towns were outlined in Policy 19, available on their website.
The policy, which will lapse and be due for review on February 28 this year, stated that items or goods may only be placed outside the frontage of a business operated by the applicant and sufficient space will be maintained at all times to allow pedestrian movement from the roadway onto the footpath and vice versa.
"Council has the power to exercise discretion on all local laws and in this case is satisfied that the furniture meets permit guidelines," Mr King said.
"A 0.4m clear space must be provided from the edge of the curb to the trading zone and a 1.8m clear space for pedestrians must be provided at all times from the property line.
"The width of the footpath in question is less than 3.6m which means the width between shop and trading zone only needs to be 1.5m."
President of the Daylesford and Hepburn Springs Business and Tourism Association and member of the Daylesford Streetscape Project committee, Robyne Head, said she was unaware the furniture was going onto the footpath but she looked forward to seeing them.
"The previous (streetscape furniture) opposite IGA were picnic tables which were totally inappropriate for the main street of Daylesford," she said.
"The street furniture has to co-ordinate with everything going on in the main street.
"Jimmy Frangos has really been a leader in style in the main street."
She said she was "very supportive of businesses wanting to get street furniture", but the priority was meeting the council specifications and in keeping with the character of Vincent Street.
"If they meet these priorities, then the business group would support it," she said.
When approached by The Advocate about the tables, proprietor Jim Frangos refused to comment.
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