Surrey council formally approved the creation of the Newton Business Improvement Association (NBIA) November 12, paving the way for Newton businesses to have their own representation within the city.
According to a report submitted to council, the NBIA was conceived following a general sentiment among store owners that a collective voice was needed to represent businesses in a climate that’s seeing declining revenues for many in the area.
In the report, one of the main issues the NBIA would like to focus on with regards to liaising with the city include parking meters installed on 137th Street. Businesses in the area also feel the meters deter customers and ultimately lead to decreased revenue and “threaten the sustainability of local businesses.”
Another key concern are trees and liability, as some spots where the city had recommended trees be put in are now seeing “extreme concrete heaving” in parking lot spaces and near buildings.
The 102 Newton stakeholders surveyed by the NBIA overwhelmingly ranked security as the highest priority, with street enhancements and marketing also appearing on the radar.
When asked what stakeholders liked least about Newton, they responded with: “ingress of unsavoury people from Surrey Central,” “drug deals, people strung out and garbage left everywhere” and “city has installed meter parking and should be withdrawn immediately,” to name a few quotes.
However, when asked what they liked the best about the area, stakeholders responded with “centrally located,” “affordable” and “mixed culture.”
In a letter to council, NBIA chair Linda McCabe wrote, “In general, our outreach findings have been positive. The majority of survey respondents indicated they are in favour of the formation of a BIA for Newton.... The overall positive feedback and growing interest from the business community leads us to conclude that a council initiative on the proposed Newton BIA will yield a positive response from property owners.”
