Boronia Mall manager hits back at “blight on Boronia” claim

THE manager at a mall in Melbourne’s outer east has hit back at criticism from a councillor who said the shopping centre was a “blight” on the suburb.

Boronia mall

THE centre manager of Boronia Mall has hit back at criticism from a Knox councillor who claimed the shopping centre was a “blight” on the suburb.

Former mayor Peter Lockwood said the centre did not have a great future, and blamed centre management for the failure of the Renew Boronia initiative.

Only one shop owner offered to give up their vacant store rent-free as part of the renewal project, despite about 20 businesses wanting to move in. The idea was to bring people back to the area, which would eventually lead to the shops being filled by new, paying tenants.

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But the initiative was scrapped and the council’s acting city development director Steven Dickson said it was “extremely disappointed” the program “did not receive enough take-up by owners”.

Empty shops were not enough to encourage landlords to rent shops for free.

Cr Lockwood claimed mall centre management “sabotaged” the initiative by talking owners out of taking part.

But centre manager Peter Poole denied this and said he was “very disappointed” at the comments.

“I absolutely supported (the project),” Mr Poole said.

“I had several meetings, and I know the council people very well, and I was a great believer in the idea of getting people into the centre to try and start a business and to look at filling empty shops.

“But I had spoken to some of our (shop) owners who said ‘yes we like the idea, but we’re not going to let them in for nothing’.”

He said outside of Westfield Knox, the Boronia Mall was one of the biggest contributors to council rates, and he was disappointed at Cr Lockwood’s criticism.

Mr Poole said the stores at the mall all had individual owners, which meant centre management could not control the mix of tenants at the mall.

“The Boronia Mall is a community shopping centre, and we’ve got some great traders in there who are working very hard,” Mr Poole said.

“But it is it hard when we do not have control over who comes in, what they sell, and what hours they open, that is very difficult.”

“I know it’s not the most modern shopping centre, but we’ve just upgraded the toilets downstairs, and the whole exterior was painted last year.”

He said it would be up to the store owners to pay to refurbish the centre, which would be a “massive” cost.

Boronia resident Ken Gregson said Cr Peter Lockwood calling the mall a “blight on Boronia” was a “disgraceful” attitude to the suburb.

“Having recently visited the Boronia Mall for a coffee it is plain to see that some of the features reflect the period in time when the mall was built, it just needs a spruce up and some positive promotion,” Mr Gregson said.

“Frankly I’ve had enough of politicians talking down our country, state or town all in the name of making a headline for themselves. Show some initiate or move on.”

TRADERS NEED SUPPORT

A NEW trader at Boronia Mall is calling on the community to support businesses at the centre.

Rose Landells opened her store Rose Garden at the mall on December 7, and said she had been warmly welcomed by customers and other tenants.

Specialising in flowers, plants, fruit and vegetables, the store has proven popular with locals.

“What we’re offering old fashioned service and old fashioned prices and we want to support a community that supports us,” Ms Landells said.

“Come in for a chat, ask for advice, we’re more than happy to spend time with people.

She said there was more that could be done to improve the mall, and said the owners of the stores should get together and give it a revamp and upgrade the decor.