"My business was doing well in Sydney where I had lived for over three decades. I made the decision to move to Goulburn three years ago with my daughter and have recently decided to start my business here," she said.

Her retail outlet in Sydney had items like accessories, shoes and clothing which she plans to set up here too.

Hopeful of setting her up her business here by next year, Miss Townsend has concerns about the state of the commercial properties that are available for leasing on the main street.

"When I started looking for commercial properties to lease for my business, I had several concerns," she said.

"I used to run a business and the appearance of the retail outlet is important for me. The condition of some of the frontages, which have been listed for sale, are not acceptable. These properties are less appealing for someone like me looking at the future tenant occupancy.

"As a new business looking at setting up here, I cannot invest too much in the property and I am hoping that concerned agencies will look into these issues which are a cause of concern to people like me."

Meantime, Goulburn Mulwaree Council has a CBD enhancement project.

The council passed a resolution in April this year regarding the CBD enhancement project to make it a better place for pedestrians, businesses and visitors.

The project includes funding for the painting of facades of heritage buildings in the CBD, increasing street furniture, and removal of concrete median strip between Montague and Clifford Streets for landscaping and trees.

In the last six months, several businesses like Factorie, Ed Harry and Harris Scarfe have announced decisions to close their outlets in Goulburn.

"I hope the employees of these stores are able to find work quickly after the closures," Mayor Bob Kirk previously said.

"Our June CBD Occupancy Audit, prior to these closures, showed vacancy within the CBD of only nine per cent of stores, which is a significant improvement on the average over the past four years which is 11pc."

He added that the council continued to invest money in the CBD to make it a brilliant community space.

"We ensures business owners have a direct contact in Council to assist with all matters to establish a business in this region," he said.

"The council also is prepared to look at subsidies for larger businesses to make Goulburn an attractive place to invest. We support owners of commercial property through funding for maintenance and painting of heritage buildings within the CBD through the Heritage Grants Program."

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