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Cranbourne traders declare ad ban unfair
Dimity Barber
02Jul08
Andre Khalil will go to court before taking down an advertising sign the council says he cannot have. n01cs313.
LURLINE ST traders are livid at Casey Council's ban on their shop advertising signs.
The city has been rolling out bans since February last year to restrict A-frames and some shop signs.
But the move has enraged the Cranbourne strip-shop traders, who say they are being unfairly targeted and it is threatening their livelihoods.
Flake on Lurline owner Manny Pappas said: "We pay a lot of rates and they give us nothing back. They bend over backwards to help big business, but they do nothing for smaller operators."
Lurline St Bottle-O owner Andre Khalil said Lurline St traders had been unfairly targeted because they lacked numbers.
"If you drive around Casey you see all kinds of signs everywhere," he said. "Yet they are clamping down hard on us. It's not fair."
Mr Khalil said the council had threatened to take him to court over a sign on the top of his shop that had been there since he opened more than five years ago.
"I've got a permit and I'm not taking it down. No way," Mr Khalil said.
But Casey planning manager Duncan Turner said the sign in question required a planning permit under state town planning laws.
"Council has provided the manager with the opportunity to comply by applying for a permit or removing the sign," he said.
