Hornsby councillor campaigns for smoke-free shopping centre in Beecroft

A campaign to transform a popular shopping centre in Sydney’s northwest into a smoke-free zone has been championed by actions groups and community members.

A campaign to transform a popular shopping centre in Beecroft into a smoke-free zone has been launched by Hornsby councillor Emma Heyde. Picture: Tim Pascoe

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A councillor is calling for support to make a Beecroft shopping centre smoke-free.

The new campaign, which Hornsby councillor Emma Heyde has already raised with centre management at Beecroft Place, was started after the successful bag-free Beecroft campaign.

She said the community was “proud of its pretty shady streets, boutiques stores and cosy cafes” but smoking resulted in litter and air pollution.

Somebody smokes outside the Beecroft Place shopping centre. Picture: Tim Pascoe

“It’s a blight on our much-loved town centre,” Cr Heyde told the Times.

“Most Beecroft families prefer their kids are not exposed to smoking, and it was about six months ago that I started to hear from residents about creating a smoke-free Beecroft.”

Hornsby Council have already prohibit smoking within ten metres of children’s playgrounds, on all council sporting fields and in bushland, parks and reserves.

Beecroft Place Market could be the centre of a new smoke-free zone.

But Cr Heyde said she is determined to extend the policy into the Beecroft CBD to include the whole Beecroft shopping area.

“Like the plastic bag-free campaign that started in Beecroft, my campaign will probably inspire other town centres to go smoke-free as well,” she said.

“On Clean Up Australia Day, Beecroft volunteers found far fewer plastic bags in waterways, in drains and in the bush.

A smoker outside the Beecroft Place shopping centre. Picture: Tim Pascoe

“This shows that the Beecroft plastic bag campaign has definitely worked — now there is support for trying to tackle the next two major sources of litter: disposable coffee cups and cigarette butts.

“Maybe the campaign can be called Butt-free Beecroft,” she said.

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