Karratha stallholder policy revision limits Dreamers Hill, opens up new go-to destination for food trucks

Searipple carpark will become the go-to destination for stallholders in a new City of Karratha policy which will further slash the number of sites available at Dreamers Hill. The City’s revised stallholder policy adopted at July’s council meeting will see Dreamers Hill sites reduced from five to four and trading sites at Searipple increased from five to 10. City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long said the revised policy was prompted byovercrowding at Dreamers Hill. “We did an extensive traffic management report on Dreamers Hill and we couldn’t do that until this year because it was only when the IGA opened and traffic really got busy there that we really knew what it was going to be like,” he said. “We got a professional report done based on actual numbers of cars that are going past that intersection there and they recommended four traders at Dreamers Hill.” The council has also agreed to remove Dampier Palms as an approved mobile trading area after receiving requests from Dampier businesses to have it removed. “We also understand the concerns of the businesses, if you’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars taking a lease on a shop and employing staff and everything, the last thing you want is somebody in a van nearby who is going to take your business,” Mr Long said. Sophia and Sotirios Moustakas, owners of Souv-Lucky (food van), are one of those affected by the revised policy for Dreamers Hill. Ms Moustakas said trading from other locations such as Searipple did not work for them because it was not the most central location for their customers. “People want to go to Dreamers, everyone wants to grab their food quick and go home after work and it’s easy for them,” she said. “If you don’t trade at Dreamers, you hardly cover your expenses trading in other designated spots around the town and the community wants the food trucks trading in one spot together, we know that from the feedback that we get.” Ms Moustakas said the roster system stallholders have been placed on was “unfair” and needed change. “This is an issue we have discussed with the City of Karratha, they need to see each day separately because each day has a different dynamic, which means not all days are as busy as others,” she said. Karratha local Aaron Freedman said he preferred to get his food from Dreamers Hill. “We live locally in the area in Nickol and it’s just a lot easier, much more friendly with the family to bring them down as opposed to going anywhere else,” he said.