Iconic hairdresser leaves Ipswich Mall

Gaye's Hair Design shuts up shop after three decades

END OF AN ERA: Gaye's Hair Fashions in the Ipswich mall is closing down. From left, Annette Brookes, Gaye Anderson and Debbie Spinks. Picture: David Nielsen

THE city mall will lose another business when Gaye's Hair Design 'Ipswich Cuts' closes on Saturday after 29 years in the CBD.

It's the fourth business in the mall to announce a closure since October when Woolworths revealed it would be gone in January, followed by RM Williams, then Kaylene Weier who will close her underwear boutique in a couple of weeks.

It's not all doom and gloom though for the CBD with three new shops opening at the 'Top of Town' in the past couple of months.

Unfortunately, that doesn't help struggling businesses in the mall.

Owner Gaye Anderson has 17 shops from Toowoomba to Deception Bay and said the Ipswich mall was by far the least popular.

For the past eight years the salon, which once had a four full-time senior staff and two juniors, has been running at a significant loss and now has only two casual senior staff.

In recent months the staff have felt increasingly unsafe working Saturday afternoons and Thursday nights with "unsavoury" characters often brawling in the mall.

Ms Anderson said it was with regret and a heavy heart that she made the decision to close but the writing was on the wall.

"It's like a death in the family," Ms Anderson said.

"I hate the thought of it but you can't stay somewhere the staff feel threatened."

The promised redevelopment of the city mall has been keeping Ms Anderson hanging on but she said with the council moving towards creating an after-hours precinct, her business no longer suits the area.

Yet, she is still looking forward to seeing the finished product.

"I still want the redevelopment to go ahead," she said.

"I want whatever is best for Ipswich and the redevelopment will be amazing. We need it but I don't think a hair dressing salon will be able to survive in an after-hours precinct."

The salon in the mall isn't the only one closing; the Collingwood Park salon will also shut up shop on Saturday.

Ms Anderson said business had struggled there too and she made the decision to open at Redbank Plains to cater for the clients in the area.

The council has told business owners it will reveal the latest master plans for the Ipswich City Mall on Tuesday alongside developers epc.pacific.