Five embarrassing Melbourne eyesores Mayor Nick Reece needs to clean up
Lord Mayor Nick Reece is fond of referring to Melbourne as the “best and fairest” city — but has he seen these dreadful eyesores making a mockery of our best landmarks?
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Freshly minted Lord Mayor Nick Reece is fond of referring to Melbourne as the “best and fairest” city in the world.
While there’s much to love about the Victorian capital, there are undoubtedly some areas which desperately require an overhaul in 2025.
In no particular order, here are the five Melbourne spots most in need of a facelift this year.
Cancer Council building
A longstanding problem, the former Cancer Council HQ on the corner of Rathdowne Street and Victoria Street was identified as an eyesore on former Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s hit list as far back as 2019.
The building has been abandoned and derelict for more than a decade, with residents nearby complaining it has become a hotbed of crime and anti-social behaviour.
A quirk of planning regulations means a new development must be approved on the site before the existing building can be demolished.
An application for a 13-storey tower housing 77 apartments from the site owner Royal Garden Manor Pty Ltd, helmed by Chinese tycoon Wang Hua, was rejected by the City of Melbourne in 2023 due to height limit concerns.
The developer appealed the decision to VCAT but lost.
There have been no new development applications since, meaning the troublesome building is set to be standing for a while longer.
Southbank Promenade
One of the areas with the city’s biggest footfalls, Southbank is host to thousands of Australian and international visitors every day.
Despite its popularity, the promenade is often dirty and filled with rubbish.
Disgusted Herald Sun reader Craig McIntosh sent in a series of photos showing empty Maccas packets and other trash covering the walkway.
“An embarrassment not only for Victorians but Australians,” was Mr McIntosh’s scathing verdict.
The grassy sections of the promenade are also frequently churned up to leave them looking like a desolate bog.
One thing Melburnians can expect to improve in the near future is the infamous Red Stairs of Queensbridge Square.
Los Angeles tourist Amanda Stirling, 54, said at first glance she had no idea the stairs were art.
“We’ve never been to Melbourne before, so when we saw this, we thought they must offer concerts here, and this is where the public sits,” she said.
“We think that there’s lots of beautiful art here, but that’s not it.”
The City of Melbourne is hosting a competition to select a firm to redesign the long loathed steps.
Applications will open this year.
Southern Cross/Flinders Street stations
Melbourne’s two major commuter terminals are in dire need of a bit of love.
Empty shopfronts abound in Southern Cross, the destination for all regional trains entering Melbourne, leading the station to feel abandoned.
Station users also frequently report problems with the elevators, and peak periods are regularly marked with overcrowding.
“It really doesn’t look that great (and) it’s not a great experience passing through there,” Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said.
Station operator Civic Nexus is planning to announce some changes to improve Southern Cross at some point in 2025, the Herald Sun understands.
“Hopefully they can provide some upgrades,” Mr Bowen said.
“There are frequently problems with the lifts breaking down, the escalators breaking down, there’s a lot of vacant shops.
“Plenty of room for improvement there.”
Meanwhile Flinders Street is often filthy, with litter covering the Swanston Street entrance and the underpass between the city and the river run down and dirty.
Much of the station is heritage listed, complicating efforts to freshen it up.
Metro Trains have however partnered with the City of Melbourne on an initial three-month program to deep clean and remove graffiti from the facade of Flinders Street Station, all the way down to the Banana Alley Vaults.
The scheduled opening of Town Hall station as part of the Metro Tunnel project in late 2025 should also make the bottom end of Swanston Street feel less like a building site
“It may make it less crowded in parts,” Mr Bowen said.
“On the other hand, the flip side of that is there’s going to be more people changing trains to and from Town Hall Station to Flinders Street.
“They’re going to need to keep an eye on that and make sure it is pleasant and efficient for people passing through.”
Bottom of Elizabeth Street
Perhaps the CBD’s most notorious area, the bottom end of Elizabeth Street has developed an awful reputation and its proximity to Flinders Street station means it is often the first thing people see when they get off the train.
Elizabeth Street’s problems were tragically highlighted in the senseless alleged killing of 44-year-old Andrew Truman outside McDonalds in October, Shop traders say they often fear for their safety.
“It’s quite scary working here, and in the past few years I feel it has definitely got worse,” one fast food store employee said.
The owner of a mobile phone shop said more police were required.
Traders have previously pleaded for a 24-hour police hub in the precinct.
“If there’s more police it’s better for the public, people will spend more time shopping here so it’s better for business, better for everyone,” he said.
As part of his election campaign, Mr Reece pledged to deploy up to thirty safety officers in stab-proof vests to deploy crime hotspots in the city, with Elizabeth Street a particular focus.
“We’re doing what counts to improve our city – beefing up our focus on city safety, cleanliness and accessibility across key locations,” Mr Reece said.
Hosier Lane
One of Melbourne’s most popular tourist destinations, millions of visitors are estimated to visit the iconic laneway every year.
However, many of the walls are covered in graffiti tags with questionable artistic merit.
During his successful election campaign, Mr Reece said it was important to recognise the economic benefits of the road as part of Melbourne’s world-renowned street art scene.
“I am not an expert but like most people I know the difference between tagging, vandalism and genuine street art,” he said.
“I’ve never seen a visitor to Melbourne take a photograph of an ugly tag but thousands take photos of our laneway street art every day.”
However, Mr Reece conceded the area could use a bit of a refresh and pledged to examine options to spruce Hosier Lane up a bit.
He said the challenge would be to clean up the laneway without compromising the gritty urban art which drew flocks of crowds every year.
“I am open to exploring options to ensure our street art remains the tourist attraction that it is today,” Mr Reece said.
“I agree that it’s not working as well as it could.
“But we also need to be careful that we don’t inadvertently undermine something that attracts people to Melbourne.”
Originally published as Five embarrassing Melbourne eyesores Mayor Nick Reece needs to clean up
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