A local businesswoman, Mrs Dolbel said it would be a positive for the community.

“I’m really excited because it will just help retail come together with some community goals; it’s continuity,” she said.

The committee is a sub-committee of the Gunnedah and District Chamber of Commerce, which will enable retail businesses to organise its own events, promote Gunnedah, and contribute to discussions around issues such as disability access and parking.

“One of the things I’m really keen about is working with community groups for tourist events, such as Ag-Quip,” Mrs Dolbel said.

“If we can open when these things are on, we can make Gunnedah a destination.”

The chair said plans were already in the works for a promotional brochure, which would enable people to get a discount in participating stores.

“If we all work together and offer one thing, we can all benefit from these people being in town,” she said.

Ms Dolbel said annual events such as the Christmas Fair were also a good opportunity for the retail sector to come up with ideas to attract crowds to the wide variety of businesses. 

She said plenty of funding was available for projects, with representatives of Gunnedah Shire Council to help connect the committee with opportunities and act as a “conduit” between the two bodies.

Chamber president Michael Broekman said the idea behind the committee was to “get the best value out of the retail sector as a combined unit”.

“It’s an important initiative in relation to trying to get the retail sector thinking as a combined unit and coming up with ways of being able to encourage shop local and promos around that, especially coming into the festive season,” he said.

The president said businesses do not need to be a member of the chamber to become part of the committee.

The first meeting for the Retail Precinct Committee will be held on August 9 at 5.30pm at The Civic.