The $3 million the city council is planning to spend on redeveloping the city waterfront would be better spent on re-instating the parking on The Strand reclamation says CBD retailer Bill Campbell.

Council figures show businesses in the CBD have experienced a 22 per cent drop in customer numbers since 2011, says Bill.

Caption: Bill in an empty Red Square today. Picture: Bruce Barnard.

'Which is almost a quarter of our customers - which is proving to be a financial burden that fewer of us can withstand for much longer,” says Bill. 'We have been told by many Councillors that it is our poor business management that is the cause of our financial demise, but when we can get the people to visit the CBD we can prove that we still have what it takes to satisfy public demand.

Bill's business Fancy That, had 186 paying customers through the doors on Christmas Eve with a reasonable number of cruise ship passengers.

'But more to the point we were seeing faces from the suburbs we haven't seen for a long time which was encouraging for us,” says Bill.

'This compares to the 13 customers we had through our doors on the 31st August this year. We also know that these results are similar to the majority of retailers in the CBD.

People attracted to a the city by the city council investment in tidal stairs and the jetty and pontoon planned for the waterfront, will be mostly weekend visitors and of virtually zero business benefit, says Bill.

'We desperately need Council to change its present thinking, and actually work for the businesses in the CBD instead of against us as it is doing at the present time.”

Councillors have to stop following the staff lead on the waterfront redevelopment and undo the council's biggest mistake – the removal of the waterfront parking, says Bill.

'Council should also consider the more important aspect of parking and that is the cost,” says Bill. 'We must transfer that money allocated for the Waterfront to the urgently needed free for the first three hours parking, which will have far reaching benefits beyond that of the few people who may benefit from the plans.

'Thousands of people a week will be of far greater benefit to the CBD than the handful of people brought into the CBD by the waterfront development.”

Bill is also challenging the ‘overwhelming' public response in support of the latest stage on the waterfront development.

'From what I understand about 170 people supported the idea but what was the question they were offering their support to?” asks Bill. 'There wasn't one. And the so called support would have probably been obtained from people who are not contributing to the city, except to visit the boat show.

'I see that staff have even trawled the newspapers to obtain the minimal feed they so badly needed to support their wafer thin case. The results of the Council staff survey have to be the most unconvincing and the most undemocratic way of manipulating Councillors to take another step in the direction they want to achieve a result already planned out in 2005.”

Bill compares the staff claim of 170 people in support of the waterfront development with the 5000 who supported Fancy That's informal survey over free parking in the CBD.

'This Waterfront fiasco is following the same story lines as the removal of the Waterfront car parking, children's playground, Hairy MacLairy, Wharf Street and many other projects, by suggesting simply that it will bring more people to the CBD,” says Bill.

'Since the removal of the Waterfront car parking and the addition of Hairy MacLary, Wharf street etc, the city has seen a dramatic increase in empty shops.

'This has to be the most obvious reason to stop wasting our money on things that are totally unnecessary to the rejuvenation of the CBD and spend this money far more wisely by encouraging more people into the city centre from 8am to 6pm seven days a week by providing more cost free parking.

'I anticipate many more empty premises after Christmas with the pop up shops emptying out and many others not having the will to carry on in an ever diminishing market. There are many leases coming up for renewal in 2016/17, and many business owners will take advantage and not renew their leases.”

Council approved the project on December 8. Staff estimate the tidal steps along the waterfront opposite Wharf Street and the Masonic Park can be completed for between $1.9 and $2.6 million. A pier and pontoon sticking out into the harbour opposite the western end of Masonic Park is estimated to cost about $584,000 at this stage. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

The estimated $3 million stairs and jetty project. Picture: Supplied.