Council approves motion to demolish disused restaurant site at historic Derby Wharf

A restaurant site overlooking at the entrance to the historic Derby Wharf will be demolished to make way for itinerant food vendors to setup shop in periods of high demand. The news comes after an expression of interest period for a new tenant saw just one submission — from a food truck owner. Registrations were called for over a ten week period between December 2020 and March 2021, with the Derby-West Kimberley Shire council at the time hopeful a range of businesses would put forward proposals. Five options for the operation of the infrastructure were put forward by the Shire; a cafe/restaurant constructed by the operator, a casual dining facility constructed by the operator, a cafe/restaurant constructed by the Shire, a casual dining area constructed by the Shire or an itinerant food vendor to service a casual dining area constructed by the Shire. In the end, just a single submission was received from an itinerant food vendor. The council subsequently voted to adopt the recommendation to allow the vendor to service the area in a “non-exclusive” capacity, meaning submissions would remain open to provide the council with options should there be more interest in the future. However at their July ordinary council meeting, Shire councillors voted to unanimously support the site being demolished, with the outdoor seated area set to remain as a dining precinct for patrons of food trucks which would now frequent the area. Shire of Derby-West Kimberley president Geoff Haerewa said the lacklustre response to the expression of interest period was disappointing. “It’s an historic site for the town and a massive tourism drawcard, so it was a little sad to see such little interest in it’s future,” he said. “Obviously this will be a different direction from before, but I think it’s going to be positive — we can now have multiple vendors take advantage of the beautiful sunsets and large crowds at the wharf.” The Shire had investigated the option of replacing the existing building, however, with just 19-years left on the lease, the move was labelled an “almost certain major financial risk” by Shire officers. “If the Shire were to fund the capital cost of a new restaurant (estimated at $600,000), it would limit available finances for other Shire services and or/ facilities,” the recommendation said. “Further, the facility might be impacted by the expiry of the current head lease in 2040.” Mr Haerewa said he was confident the Kimberley Port Authority, which leases the land to the Shire, would be open to discussion on extending the lease, but understood why the current 19 year limit on any new tenancy could contribute to the lack of interest from local food vendors.