Coonabarabran’s industrial area on the northern side of town is flourishing with local businesses and government institutions alike, and is essential in supporting many families and farmers in their livelihoods. However, when it comes to street appeal, some think more can be done.

Against a typical palette of steel, concrete and bitumen greys are heavy diesel mechanics, earth-moving businesses, local builders, a nursery/ petshop, stockfeeder, storage sheds, metal fabrication and government institutions.

Amongst them is the highly established Prugger Family Group, which owns the nursery/ pet shop/coffee shop, landscaping, eight of the school buses, and the main Prugger workshop/ office, with around 30 employees across the board.

Anthony Prugger’s parents were the force behind much of this, and he retains a strong sense of pride for a legacy he is carrying on, but feels that the industrial area is lacking in an aesthetic street presence.

He admits to driving around such areas in other towns, and these travels have instilled an invaluable mindset in the focused business owner.

“The way that a business is presented can be a reflection of the way owners carry out their day-to-day business – usually when you see quality, it’s reflected,” Mr Prugger said.

However, when you enter the industrial sector of many regional or rural areas, the same cannot always be applied.

Mr Prugger suspects that it’s related to land valuation, but, regardless, hopes to see other businesses follow suit with his family, by assessing their street presence factors such as lawns and driveways, emphasising it means a lot to prospective clients driving past, or those who want to use the services.

Council responsibility?

Warrumbungle Shire Council owns the land from the concrete gutter tothefencelinesand,as such, the responsibility of keeping the lawns mowed and presentable falls within its jurisdiction.

While many businesses in the industrial area opt to mow their own nature strip, Mr Prugger said the type of grass is rough and difficult to mow.

He would like to see the current grass in the industrial sector replaced by a variety that is more drought tolerant and, in doing so, improve street presence.

Mr Prugger said it would be a huge undertaking to strip back the old grass and replace it, made harder by red tape involved in traffic management for such a task, but was looking to discuss options and seek assitance from Council on how to move forward.

Mr Prugger reflected on the effectiveness of a recent letter distributed out by Council encouraging land owners to improve street appeal. He considers this a solid stepping stone for Council to replace the grass with ongoing maintenance of new grass falling on interested businesses. Communicating the next step

An improved street presence in the industrial area would not only be ofbenefitforthetownan the locals. Prospective businesses have looked at establishing themselves in the area, however, have failed to follow through.

In the spirit of recognising possible areas of improvement for the industrial sector, Mr Prugger believes it’s not only a lack of “uniform street presence” that has hindered the introduction of new people and businesses, but an unreliable NBN connection that resulted in local businesses taking matters into their own hands.

The NBN cuts off just before the 50-kilometre sign leading into Coonabarabran and while mobile signal was offered, it wasn’t reliable enough for industrial- area businesses, particularly in the sheds.

Following this, the NBN company installed satellite dishes, which lasted only a few days before ultimately failing.

For the Prugger Group, the satellite dishes offered were never going to last, due to the steep price they were charged for a non-unlimited service, which had to be spread between CCTV cameras and data within the buses and trucks.

From this, they and many other establishments in the area turned to Starlink, however, they still experience some connectivity issues. In an era where many businesses are online, this is a huge barrier.

Moving forward, Mr Prugger believes landscaping should be the first step in making the industrial area more attractive to prospective businesses and clients, with strong communication required between involved businesses and Council.

Rectifying the connectivity issues where possible should follow, enabling businesses to operate smoothly.

It seems a huge task, but Anthony Prugger knows it can be done and said with the proper time, organisation and funding, will undoubtedly prove a worthwhile venture in the long run.