CBD property owners urged to offer vacant shops to charities for fundraising

THE Melbourne City Council has come up with a plan it says will reduce crime and make areas more vibrant. Here’s what it is.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and Salvation Army Major Brendan Nottle. Picture: Alex Coppel.

CHARITIES will be given access to vacant shops in the CBD under a city council plan to reduce crime while making areas more vibrant.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the council would encourage landlords to offer their underused or vacant spaces temporarily to community groups for fundraising.

“Melburnians are generous and compassionate,” he said.

“I am often approached by business and building owners who want to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, but they don’t know how to go about it.”

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The City of Melbourne will kick off the project tomorrow by making available a vacant council-owned property at 208 Lt Collins St to the Salvation Army.

Marking national Homelessness Week, the pop-up shop will sell clothing, bric-a-brac and coffee to raise cash for the Salvos’ night-time safe space the Hamadova Café in Bourke St.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and Salvation Army Major Brendan Nottle. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Salvation Army street team leader Major Brendan Nottle said the shop will be staffed by Salvos workers and by those who’ve experienced homelessness but since got support through programs like Collingwood’s Magpie Nest Housing Project.

“We want to look at opportunities to activate vacant buildings around the city,” he said.

“Having a Salvos presence in the building means we can make sure the building is clean and secure, while also providing training and employment opportunities for people who are long-term homeless or unemployed.”

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Maj Nottle said that rough sleepers often put themselves in danger by squatting in empty building that might be unsafe.

The Lord Mayor said the council was leading the way and he hoped other building owners would follow.

“Apart from community organisations like the Salvos able raise money for services, there are other benefits too: activating vacant spaces makes the city more vibrant and reduces the

opportunities for anti-social behaviour,” he said.

Chair of the council’s people city portfolio Cr Tessa Sullivan encouraged landlords to contact Launch Housing if they had a property available.

The City of Melbourne has provided an extra $2 million for homelessness programs, including $300,000 for the Hamadova Cafe.

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