More food and coffee vans can now park up across the city after Wagga council decided to expand its popular program.
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It means new operators like 3 Dutchies' Shirleen Van Gorkom could run a thriving business after her dream of owning a coffee van was fast-tracked when she lost her employment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The highly coveted permits had been previously capped at 10, however the city's councillors voted at Monday night's council meeting, to allow five additional operators the chance to put their wheels on the ground.
"For me, it means I can operate mostly unrestricted. I can go down to Wagga Beach and provide a service where there are so many people out for a walk or set up in the suburbs where people don't want to drive into town for coffee," Mrs Van Gorkom said.
"If the demand is there and people are asking me to go out (to the outlying suburbs and villages) I would happily do so."
She said it was important that the council was moving forward with the program to give more people the opportunity to start new businesses like herself.
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Wagga councillor Vanessa Keenan said the current issue was that existing operators had "first dibs" on the 10 permits, which has the potential to lock out any future businesses.
By increasing the number to 15, Cr Keenan said the council was creating a fair marketplace for operators and the community.
"We are at a time where everyone has been impacted by COVID-19 and the dynamic has changed in relation to people being able to socialise," she said.
"We need to pivot and be nimble and ensure our local economy provides opportunities."
Cr Kerry Pascoe said it was an exciting time to see these operators set-up across the city, creating communal areas where residents could line up and get to know each other.
"These will continue to be a good thing as they have been already," he said.
The council will revisit the program again by the end of this year to review its existing tenure, the range of offerings and the opportunities to leverage from its success.