![Empty shops in the CBD and a lack of vibrancy have concerned retailers and the wider community. Picture: DARREN HOWE Empty shops in the CBD and a lack of vibrancy have concerned retailers and the wider community. Picture: DARREN HOWE](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gzajA9j5yvatvSgWamdNVy/cbfc8440-ff00-44a1-b03d-c052fbb241a2.jpg/r0_0_4928_3280_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
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Charging traders in Bendigo’s central business district a special levy could help address some of the issues the area is facing, the head of the local business representative group has suggested.
Be.Bendigo chief executive officer Leah Sertori said the council had once imposed a levy for CBD businesses, from which a proportion went into a pool of funds to support certain activities for the benefit of the area.
Ms Sertori said the initiative had not been well-executed, but the concept itself was “not necessarily a bad idea”.
Government was not the most suitable body to administer such a fund, she said, and the business community instead would need to be at the centre of the initiative.
Ms Sertori suggested such a fund could support such activities as window dressing of empty shops, promotions and maintaining the aesthetics of the area.
The organisation has itself implemented a similar concept, charging members trading in certain precincts within the CBD a special fee from which half is put into a pool to resource activities within their respective areas.
City of Greater Bendigo place manager Philip DeAraugo said the council’s levy was implemented from 2007 to 2011, but was not renewed because of opposition.
Mr DeAraugo said special rates were a common tool in Australia and it was an option the council would investigate further in partnership with retailers.
“We are mindful that any additional costs that are passed on to property owners or tenants would need to be carefully considered and that there may be other ways of achieving a similar outcome using existing resources,” he said.
“Retailers are doing it pretty tough at the moment and we would not like to increase their costs without being able to substantiate the benefits.”
One trader is concerned that a levy would again fail.
Oliver Birch owner Deb McAliece said it presented a problem when different traders wanted different things from it.
“It is really difficult,” she said.
She said the nature of retail had changed so much that it was hard to say that it would work.
The CBD has suffered a downturn in recent times, facing such issues as several vacancies and antisocial behaviour in Hargreaves Mall.
Be.Bendigo has made an application to the state government for funding to support activities in the CBD, but has not received a response to date.