Langtree Mall: Mildura Rural City Council says proposal needs ‘evidence’
Mildura Rural City Council has poured cold water on efforts to return traffic to Langtree Mall. But a business owner says minor tinkering isn’t the answer.
Mildura
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Returning traffic to Langtree Mall was considered in a recent review of Mildura’s CBD but there was “no evidence” it would be a success, council says.
The coronavirus has exacerbated a trend of rising vacancies in the mall, which now has about one-third of its shops empty.
Mall business owner Ryan Hammerton this month unveiled his proposal for putting in one lane of traffic and short-term parking, an effort aimed at reversing the trend.
SEE THE PLANS: NEW VISION FOR MILDURA’S LANGTREE MALL
But it’s a view at odds with the conclusions of the Mildura CBD Plan 2020-2035, which was endorsed by councillors in June.
A Mildura Rural City Council spokesman said an “exhaustive engagement process” had been completed as part of that plan.
“This included meeting with numerous CBD traders and the broader community and listening to their views and ideas in relation to the mall,” the spokesman said.
“The Mildura CBD Plan 2020-2035 does not recommend replacing the mall with a road or modification to allow through traffic.
“Council did examine this proposal during development of the CBD plan, however after looking at the submissions received and further analysis, including a discussion paper, there was no evidence demonstrating the success of this proposal.
“Any major proposal, like demolishing the mall and constructing a road, would need to clearly demonstrate the community benefit and how it would address identified problems.”
The plan instead recommended a “placemaking” project for Langtree Ave, from Seventh to Tenth streets, as opposed to purely the mall stretch.
Initiatives in this project included increased levels of shading, pedestrian “shortcuts”, improved public amenity and facilities and a redevelopment of Feast Street.
Mr Hammerton, who is promoting his proposal on the Langtree Mall Evolution Facebook page, described the response as showing council planned on doing “nothing much to the mall over the next 15 years”.
By trying to focus on the entire CBD, including residential areas, he said council were ignoring one of the most critical assets they own.
“Many people have come forward with fantastic ideas and concepts for both the mall and for Feast Street, with a really strong vision for connectivity to the riverfront, and presently the council have nothing more than minor adjustments to the entire area,” he said.
“The vast majority of their proposal is talking about minor fixes to amenity.”
Mr Hammerton said the community response to his proposal was that it was a “highly desirable” solution.
Mildura City Heart chair Adam Hobbs said his organisation would listen to the views of businesses, landlords and ratepayers, and would continue to meet with council to come up with the best solution for the mall.
Mr Hobbs said there were varying reasons for the rise in vacancies.
“You lose a really high-profile anchor tenant like Priceline, that certainly leaves a hole within the space, and that’s only encouraged now with the loss of the Commonwealth Bank for instance,” he said.
“It has a bit of a flow-on effect, where people lose confidence in the space.
“But we’ve also had people move around in the CBD depending on rent, depending on shop size, that sort of thing.
“The mall where it’s at now, it does need to be looked at.”
The council spokesman said any potential investment of ratepayer money should be undertaken in “the best long-term interest of the community”.
“It should also be noted that this is a matter for the next council, should they want to review the current council’s agreed position as stated in the Mildura CBD Plan 2020-2035,” the spokesman said.
Ten council candidates have indicated in-principle support for the one-lane proposal, according to the Langtree Mall Evolution Facebook page: Liam Wood, Stefano de Pieri, Jodi Reynolds, Katie Clements, Cyndi Power, Julie Waters, Dean Wickham, Glenn Milne, Kym Kingdon and Angy Fikaris.
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