By Luke Voogt
Geelong’s troubled Little Malop St mall needs to gotten “rid of” and “reopened”, according to the former mayor who oversaw its opening.
“We need to get rid of the mall aspect of it,” said Hayden Spurling, a central city trader and City of Geelong mayor from 1985 to 1987.
Mr Spurling urged council to open up the mall for car parking despite recently “doing away with off-street parking“ in central Geelong.
His call followed A Current Affair labelling the mall “one of Australia’s nastiest” in a TV segment featuring multiple brawls.
The mall opened during the redevelopment of Market Square in the mid 1980s before Geelong’s councils amalgamated.
Initially the mall was “OK” but it worsened after failing to attract the retailers “it needed“, Mr Spurling said.
“As many moved away it became a backwater.”
Flagpoles, trees, fountains and clocks became casualties in various failed council bids to improve the mall, he said.
“We can’t just continue throwing money at it without success.”
But central Geelong developer Bill Votsaris believes scrapping the Moorabool St bus interchange could save the mall instead.
Unattractive bus shelters discouraged higher-end retailers and cafes opening in Moorabool St, he explained.
“You’re not going to get a Chanel opening up behind a bus shelter are you?”
Mr Votsaris said spreading bus stops across central Geelong could make Moorabool St a “premier” shopping strip.
“(It has) beautiful views of the bay (but) you can’t have alfresco (dining).”
He had received many inquiries about the nearby booming boutique precinct in western Little Malop St, which was nearing capacity, he said.
Removing the bus interchange would encourage the precinct to “spill” into Moorabool St and eventually Little Malop St mall, he explained.
Coalition MP Bev McArthur recently renewed calls for a permanent police presence in the mall following the A Current Affair segment.
But Mr Votsaris said this could actually deter shoppers.
Deputy mayor councillor Peter Murrihy disagreed, saying the area needed a police presence, but backed calls to remove the bus interchange.
Mr Murrihy described the TV segment as a sensationalist and unfair portrayal but admitted Little Malop St mall had long-running issues.
