(City of Moonee Valley)
Results from a survey of Moonee Valley businesses show respondents to be generally happy doing business in the City they consider friendly, safe, clean and diverse. The survey, which was conducted to determine the business community’s satisfaction with Council’s services and facilities, also showed that respondents were pleased with some of its business-related programs.

“Business respondents rated Council projects such as the Business Excellence Awards program at 7.05 out of 10. Festivals and events came a close second at 7.04 out of 10,” Mayor Cr Ben Opie said

Council’s Business Excellence Awards are handed out every year to recognise achievements of local small to medium-sized business operators. This year’s Moonee Valley Festival, which featured a section for local businesses and stalls, drew a record crowd of over 60,000 people.

Cr Opie said the survey, which took place in February this year, also aimed to get a sense of the business community’s reactions and insights on a number of issues affecting the City.

“The top issues identified by businesses were car parking, traffic management and building, planning, housing and development,” Cr Opie said.

The business survey was conducted on behalf of Council by Metropolis Research, the same research company that performed the community survey of residents late last year. In the business survey, researchers contacted 473 businesses by telephone. The largest single industry represented in the findings was retail, which was 28 per cent of the sample.

Dale Hubner, Managing Director of Metropolis Research, said the telephone interview methodology was considered more preferable for businesses as it gave the respondent the option of asking the researcher to call back at a more convenient time. Of the 473 businesses that were contacted, 221 turned out to be wrong numbers or did not answer, 152 declined to participate and 100 completed the surveys. More……

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