Two Skinny Cooks owners forced to close

One Berrima business has already been forced to close due to confusion over approval requirements.

After three years trading from the same site, Two Skinny Cooks owners Veronica Stute and Justin Wells had to close their doors on January 25 when they discovered they had been trading illegally from their Old Hume Highway premises.

Taken aback by the news, the couple holds concerns for neighbouring businesses. “How many are in the same boat as us?” Mr Wells said. “Are most, if not all, of the Berrima business district actually illegal due to the re-zoning?”

Council gave notice of an impending order of closure for the business on November 25, 2016. However, the letter was sent to their landlord, who lives in Sydney. “The landlord’s wife received an email that said we had until February 3 to submit a DA and sort everything out,” Mr Wells said.  When the order of closure was issued on January 16, it was again sent to the landlords in Sydney.

“We were left out of the exchange,” Ms Stute said.

Two Skinny Cooks should have closed at that point, however, the business owners were unaware they could not keep trading. They found out on January 24, and immediately visited council chambers on January 25. The couple was told to cease trading immediately.

“It’s a huge shock, we can’t pay our mortgage or bills, we have stock we can’t sell, and have no way to support ourselves,” Ms Stute said. “We are figuring out different avenues of sale to be able to pay the bills and support ourselves while setting up a new business.”

Council’s deputy general manager corporate, strategy and development services Mark Pepping said council had conducted a review of the business’s approval status after a complaint was made to council. “It was found that no development approval had been applied for to run the business from the current location,” he said.

Mr Pepping said while it was state law for council to serve any letters to the owner of a premises, proposed changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act currently under discussion would allow councils to send letters to the businesses renting the land, as well as the landlords.

Council acting coordinator of strategic planning Susan Stannard said the onus was on the business operator to check if they were compliant with zoning. “We are willing to accept a development application to get this business back on track, but that seems to have been stalled by the operators,” she said. “They are likely to need DA approval no matter where they move.”

Mr Wells and Ms Stute are currently looking at a new shop premises in Berrima.