Boronia Renewal Plan maps out suburb’s future

A NEW plan aims to make a much-maligned Knox suburb a more appealing place to live and shop.

Boronia Mall has struggled to attract tenants in the past. Now Knox Council has a plan to revitalise the suburb.

THE changing face of Boronia is being mapped out in a council plan that’s aiming to make the suburb “great again”.

Knox Mayor John Mortimore said the Boronia Renewal Plan would make the area a more appealing place to live and shop.

The report was based on months of feedback from residents and businesses and identified a long list of issues that needed fixing over the long-term.

Knox Council wants to revitalise Boronia. Photo: Daniel Pockett

It said work was needed to address the suburb’s socieconomic disadvantage, perceptions of safety and the poor quality designs of recent residential developments.

“Boronia is a high priority area due to significant social issues, a relatively poor business environment, ageing and inadequate infrastructure and a need to review planning controls across the activity centre,” the report said.

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Knox Mayor John Mortimore said the suburb needed to be revamped to attract new residents and new investment.

“Boronia’s a great place but it’s seen better days,” he said.

“We want to make it great again.”

Cr Mortimore said a key focus was on tackling anti-social behaviour and providing activities to youth.

“You’ve got young people hanging around because they’ve got nothing to do. That’s one of the things we intend to address, finding out what sort of things they want, what sort of things will attract them.”

The report listed a number of council-owned assets as “coming to the end of the building’s life cycle” including Knox Leisureworks, Park Crescent Childcare Centre and Bellbird Senior Citizens Centre.

It described the Knox Basketball Stadium as “no longer fit for purpose”.

The council has said it wants to decommission the stadium within the next five years and add extra basketball courts to the State Basketball Centre.

The council has said it wants to decommission the stadium within the next five years and add extra basketball courts to the State Basketball Centre.