By NICOLE VALICEK
IT’S a case of “better late than never” after Hobsons Bay City Council endorsed funding for safety upgrades at Harrington Square.
The council allocated $50,000 in budget funding on Tuesday for safety and amenities upgrades to the square – an area that has been plagued with street crime over the last few years.
Harrington Square traders will be consulted to help form a priority list of improvements to the Altona shopping strip.
Victoria Police also conducted an audit of the safety and amenity of the shopping centre.
The audit covered the shopping centre, car parks and surrounding areas and considered the lighting, car parking, parking permits and restrictions, trader and delivery access, waste management, graffiti, vandalism and seating and pedestrian access.
A number of crime-fuelled incidents have shaken the square, including the near-death bashing of former book shop owner 61-year-old Jill Brookes 10 months ago, for the sake of $200.
Another retailer has told of his terrifying experience that has shocked other members of the community, after a gun-man allegedly held up an IGA supermarket and bottle shop less than a week ago.
The alleged hold-up is the latest in a serious of robberies plaguing the shopping precinct.
According to a Channel 9 News report, the supermarket has been targeted four times in the last two months, the newsagent has been robbed twice, in June last year the chemist was broken into and in July the bookshop was robbed.
Councillor Tony Briffa, who has been lobbying for the safety upgrades, said it should have be done a long time ago, but that it was “better late than never”.
“Let’s get on with it,” he said.
One food trader who opened his business two years ago said they had not experienced any crime on his end of the square.
But he said any additional security will help to improve overall safety at the square.
“Any little thing that helps will help improve security everywhere not just in the square but throughout the whole suburb.”
Another trader said that the square was not dangerous and that the recent crime-spree was unusual.
“It could happen to any shop, you always have to keep that in the back of your mind.”
Businesses have asked the council for CCTV cameras to be installed across all of the shopfronts.
The shop owner agreed CCTV was a good idea, but the only way to stop the crime was to have a full-time police/security patrols but recognised that was unrealistic.
Hobsons Bay City Mayor Angela Altair said working with the police was the ideal way forward.
