Bendigo councillors vote for three-year Hargreaves Mall action plan

At Monday's general council meeting, councillors voted in favour of the action plan, which targets areas of concern such as high vacancy rates, cleanliness, graffiti, activation levels and anti-social behaviour.

The action plan did not recommend opening the mall up to cars, which was estimated to cost up to $5 million, citing pedestrian safety as a factor.

WHAT YOU SAID: Plans to change Bendigo's Hargreaves Mall spark debate

Councillor Dave Fagg said council should not be spending "large amounts" of money on the mall.

"Radical solutions like opening it up to traffic, smack as a silver bullet approach where one solution is hoped to solve many problems," Cr Fagg said.

"I don't subscribe to such a view and I'd be critical of the amount of money needed to take this action.

"Bendigo, across the municipality, has dozens of public spaces which require funding and support, and I think the mall should take its place among these and not dominate our priorities."

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Money for a shade structure which was set to be built alongside a new hotel has been reallocated to landscaping and other improvements as developers told the City the project would not be proceeding "for the foreseeable future".

Cr Fagg said there were three main positives from the action plan, including increased cleaning and graffiti removal, establishing a city centre stakeholder group to address social issues, and increase the number and frequency of larger events, such as markets.

Cr Jen Alden, who voted in favour of the plan, said the "real issue" was the Mitchell Street end of the mall, and the state government should come to the table.

"The Department of Transport need to fund changes to improve accessibility to the Bendigo bus network," she said.

"We're now focused on painting and modifying the bus shelter at the Mitchell Street end in this proposal, as one entrance to this public space. Is this lipstick on a pig? Only time will tell."

Cr Alden said opening the mall to traffic was not the right solution as it would "end the safe pedestrian and event character" of the space.

She said the City should aspire for the mall to feature more hospitality venues, outdoor eateries and nighttime venues, although it could not invest in shops or enforce the type of businesses operated.

Cr Matthew Evans, who voted against the proposal, said the action plan included things that had not worked already and a "vastly different approach" was required.

"Actions such as wayfinding signs, micro-tendencies, advocating with major tenants such as Myer and increasing cleaning services are already in place and is what the City should be doing anyway," he said.

He said the mall should be opened to traffic, regardless of the cost, and council should look to the Maude Street and Bridge Street Malls in Shepparton and Ballarat, with the respective councils opening the spaces to traffic.

"[The report] is saying that we are going to wait another three years to then ask whether this has worked or not," Cr Evans said. "In the interim, we are proposing to undertake new landscaping works and replacing the playground."

"It would be a complete waste of money if are setting ourselves up for a review in another three years time only to arrive at the conclusion which we could arrive to now."

Cr Evans said minimal car traffic, cycling infrastructure and "more safety to prevent hooning and other sort of anti-social behavior" could be achieved through the design process.

His speech was met with light applause from the public gallery.

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Cr Alden said for the action plan to be successful, residents needed to "vote with their feet".

"They need to support the Mall and the environment will change," she said.

Councillors Evans and Greg Penna voted against the motion, with councillors Fagg, Alden, Rod Fyffe and Julie Sloan voting in favour.

Councillors Marg O'Rourke and Vaughan Williams were absent from the council meeting.

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