Vandals trash once popular ten pin bowling centre
It used to be “where the good times roll” but now this once popular northside entertainment centre looks more like the site of a bomb blast.
QLD Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
VANDALS have gone on the rampage at a once popular northside ten pin bowling centre smashing windows and doors and spraying graffiti on walls.
The former AMF Kedron Bowling Centre, which closed in 2017, is earmarked for a new shopping centre but local residents have now described it as resembling a “Beirut bomb site in the suburbs.”
Security fencing has been erected around the Gympie Rd site but vandals have managed to smash most of the windows and spray the brick walls with graffiti.
In 2017, Carbone Developments lodged plans with the Brisbane City Council to transform the centre into a “Farmer Joe’s’ inspired fresh food centre which would include about half a dozen specialty stores.
Carbone Developments this week said the plans for the shopping centre remained on track but the right tenants had to be found.
Poor consumer sentiment due to the coronavirus pandemic meant developments in the retail sector were being affected.
The company was working with the Brisbane City Council to reduce vandalism and other damage at the site but unfortunately vandals remained a problem.
“We don’t know if it is local kids or not, but they also causing problems for the adjacent VW dealership,” a company spokesperson said.
Gold Coast-based Ardent Leisure closed the Kedron centre in 2018 along with bowling centres at Dandenong, Cannon Hill, and Panmure in New Zealand as it attempted to cut costs following the fatal Dreamworld accident the previous year.
The Kedron centre, which was a popular venue for children’s parties and as a teenage hangout, gained notoriety in the 1980s with a television ad that had the catchline “Kedron Bowl / where the good times roll!.”
Brisbane City Council said it had received two complaints about graffiti at the site, the first dating back to 2017 and the second in 2019.
A council spokesperson said in 2019 the council gained permission from the owner to remove graffiti and this was completed in December.
“Council is aware there is currently graffiti on the site and is working with the private owner to have the graffiti removed as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.. “We have zero tolerance for vandalism and have dedicated graffiti removal teams and CCTV cameras across the city to capture graffiti criminals across the city.”
The spokesperson said a development application for the site remained under assessment by the council with public consultation expected to commence this month.
A police spokesperson said there had been one complaint of graffiti in the Kedron area over the last two months but it did not involve the Kedron bowling building.
