Complaints of unhygienic conditions, bird poo at Bell St Mall in Heidelberg West

Shop owners at a 70-year-old Melbourne mall that is covered in bird poo and graffiti claim they are being neglected because of the area’s “bad name”.

The entrance to Bell Street Mall in Heidelberg West. Picture: Odessa Blain.

Shop owners and workers at one of Melbourne’s oldest malls claim they are being neglected because of the area’s “bad name”.

Bell Street Mall, located on the corner of Bell St and Oriel Rd, Heidelberg West opened in 1956 — with the first store doing business the week before the Olympics started.

When the Herald Sun visited the mall, pools of white bird poo line the walkways and graffiti marked nearly every shop front.

The Bell Street mall in Heidelberg West opened in 1956

Samantha Breheny, who works for the mall’s McLaughlan Comfort Shoes, said she felt ignored by council.

“It just needs cleaning … because the birds are honestly going to keep pooing,” she said.

Ms Breheny suggested purchasing a fortnightly ride-on street sweeper and dismissed ideas of placing nets to stop the birds as “inhumane”.

One shop assistant said Heidelberg West’s bad reputation means the mall is being ignored.

She said the lack of meaningful action to clean up the area was linked to Heidelberg West’s bad reputation and lower socio-economic status.

“Just because people don’t have much money — they still deserve it to be clean,” she said.

Violetta Peaneva, who has run the Family Shop at the mall for 25 years, has placed a sign telling visitors not to feed the birds outside her store.

She described the situation as urgent and claimed it would be fixed faster if the mall was in a wealthier area.

“But what can I do? … The bad name continues in this area,” she said.

Violetta Peaneva outside the Family Shop. Picture: Odessa Blain

While a nearby shopkeeper, who didn’t want to be named, described the situation as “actually depressing”.

“I really don’t know what we can do,” he said, adding he felt embarrassed to welcome first-time customers.

Banyule Council noted a petition on Monday calling for “urgent improvements” to the hygiene and maintenance at Bell Street Mall.

Mayor Tom Melican described the mall as a much loved “active little area”.

“Currently, the centre suffers from irregular cleaning schedules and inadequate maintenance, resulting in unsanitary conditions such as accumulated bird droppings,” it read.

It also claimed the mall was plagued by large numbers of rats.

At the meeting, Councillor Rick Garotti said, although he had not been to the mall in a long time, his recollections of the place were that “it is an area in need of some greater attention”.

“This petition doesn’t surprise me,” he said.

Mayor Tom Melican noted the space “could do with an uplift”.

He also described the mall as “much loved and talked about … it is a very vibrant, active little area”.

Large pools of bird poo feature throughout the mall. Picture: Odessa Blain

Benches at the mall are in need of a good clean. Picture: Odessa Blain

“Council staff are on site at The Mall every day, including Saturday and Sunday, to clean, empty litter bins, control pests, maintain and repair fittings and remove graffiti. The pigeon mess was cleaned recently at significant cost and has now returned.

“We’ve secured federal government funding to develop a master plan for the neighbourhood activity centre around Bell Street Mall. We’ll be working closely with the traders and the local community to revitalise and improve the area.”

Council voted unanimously to table the petition and refer it to the operations infrastructure department for a response.