Langtree Mall change needed, but traders’ visions diverge

TWO traders have rolled out visions to revamp Langtree Mall into a vibrant place “the town can be proud of”.

With nearly one in two shops vacant in the mall, business owners have made an impassioned plea for Mildura Rural City Council to address their concerns before the situation worsens.

“If the council doesn’t realise the urgency of the situation (to make improvements), then they’ll have a ghost town here in the next couple of years,” Surf Crew owner Kate O’Brien said this week.

“We’ve had a good trading month in the lead-up to Christmas, but there are still major issues with the mall that need fixing.”

The new owner of Collins Booksellers Mildura, Donata Carrazza, said “more lateral thinking” was needed to bring more people into the mall.

“We should also be looking at more food, wine and even residential in this area,” she said.

“Getting people living in the CBD above buildings – why not? Spaces should really be built up, rather than continually built out.

“That way, you maximise the land you’re on. We need to hold on to as much parkland as we can.

“I feel for the mall. It’s like the underdog of the city and most people want to see it thrive again.”

Their comments follow the blueprint for a mall makeover laid out about two months ago by former Mildura City Heart chair Ryan Hammerton.

The Hammertons Jewellers owner has proposed the reintroduction of traffic and parking to the strip for the first time in more than three decades.

He is proposing a one-way street that flows from Eighth to Ninth streets and has 43 parking spaces, including seven dedicated parent spots, three for disabled parking and two 15-minute bays.

Ms O’Brien was “fully supportive” of Mr Hammerton’s plan, but Ms Carrazza was “not necessarily in favour of it”.

“A road through the mall is not what I’d go for,” she said.

“I think we need more lateral thinking trying to preserve and improve our public spaces.

“Excluding the riverfront, we have so little public space in the CBD, so I think we need to keep it and better use it for public good.

“Rather than creating a one-way strip that would further deplete it, I’m all for having crossways that link the major streets of Lime and Deakin avenues.

“It would create spaces that allow the public to walk through. And what you’d get then are little alleyways and arcades where you can have more cafes and florists, and the like.

“This creates energy and vibrancy in the town centre and makes it a place to be proud of.”

Ms O’Brien said the mall “absolutely needs to be opened up for traffic” to improve convenience for shoppers.

“People want to be able to get to the shops quickly and easily,” she said.

“I’d like to see more parking in the mall. But we’d need to have one side blocked off so we can still host events and the markets.

“There’s still so much space in the mall that we could do a lot of things.

“I’d love it if we had a playground and food outlets in the middle of the mall, to bring in more people.

“It’d be great to see any shops open up, to be honest, but we need to get some more vibrancy into the heart of the mall.”

Former Mildura residents have also commented on the sorry state of Langtree Mall.

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