The festival was moved to the car park in 2014 during construction of The Levee Component One.

A Maitland Council spokesperson said the festival’s success in 2014 led to the decision to use the venue in 2015 “to enable the festival to continue to grow and to spread the benefit of the event to include the broader Levee precinct, which encompasses Cathedral Street to Maitland Library bounded by Ken Tubman Drive.” 

“This decision was informed by feedback received from festival attendees and stallholders,” the spokesperson said.

But not everyone approves of the location.

Maitland Levee Pharmacy retail manager Kellie Dyson said the festival being in the car park meant there was less foot traffic in their business than there was when the festival was held in the mall.

She said the choice to have it in the car park also means less spaces for festival attendees to park.

Hollie Rose boutique owner Courtney Haslehan had a similar opinion saying she was surprised that the council was not utilising the space they have upgraded.

“It’s a shame not to use the shops to their advantage,” she said.

Preah Ko owner Tracy Williams said she was disappointed that the festival has not been moved back to The Levee.

“They’ve spent all this money on The Levee and their not using it,” she said.

Ms Williams said she noticed a significant difference in trade from the Taste Festival, which was held in the mall, to Aroma last year.

However, Lavenders Riverside Cafe owner Stephanie Purdon said they loved the festival being in the car park.

She said the location resulted in pedestrians passing by her cafe, and as Aroma was such a big event, there was enough people for many businesses to make money out of it.

A poll The Mercury conducted after the 2014 festival also showed that a majority (52.5 per cent) of people wanted the car park to permanently host the festival.