Arabic version: تظهر المتاجر المحلية في كانبيرا تباينًا في النجاح والانحدار

According to ABC News,

Canberra is known for its local shops, but while some are thriving others have fallen into disrepair. Just a few kilometres from the thriving Chisholm local shops, the Richardson shops have been abandoned for years. Local shops are a distinctive feature of Canberra, dotted throughout the capital in a bid to provide convenient amenities and encourage a sense of community.

But over time, some have thrived, while others have struggled to secure tenants or avoid falling into disrepair. The ACT government’s recent budget is funding upgrades for Chisholm, Cooleman Court, Kingston and Kippax shopping centres. The upgrades will cost about $417,000 over the next four years, and will go towards fixing pavements and paths, as well as landscaping, seating and bins around the four shopping precincts. But the ACT Greens say more needs to be done, arguing commercial interest is not enough to ensure shops meet public need.

ACT Greens MLA Laura Nuttall represents the electorate of Brindabella, home to the Richardson shops, which has not had any tenants since 2020. The grocery store there closed down in 2019, but other shops in the complex were empty for years before that. Now, it is fenced off to the public and has been described as “derelict”. Ms Nuttall said the closure had led to further issues at the site that were affecting the community. “We just started to see a rise in antisocial behaviour, windows smashed up,” she said. “And when they boarded them up, some pretty awful antisocial graffiti and things like that [appeared]. From the community’s perspective, they kind of lost a meeting place.”

Ms Nuttall said good local shops benefited from an adjacent “third place” like a park or playground where people socialised. “Without some kind of meeting point to kind of anchor people there, we really saw that loss of community amenity, and there was nothing for people to do, so they stopped showing up,” she said. She said what was needed to create those spaces was a place to buy groceries — which was also what residents asked for most when surveyed about what was missing from Richardson.

The Chisholm shops are not far away by car, but Ms Nuttall said the 30-minute walk was too much for many residents who did not have access to a vehicle or did not drive. The Richardson shops are privately owned and do not fall under the remit of the ACT government, but Ms Nuttall said she hoped some investment could be made to give the precinct a chance to come to life again. “I think you need to see goodwill on both sides, both from the owners and from the government, when it comes to Richardson shops,” she said.

Further north, some businesses at the Mawson shops say poor layout and maintenance of the precinct make it harder to attract customers. Uneven footpaths and graffiti deter customers and lead to complaints, Reece Travers, owner of Southlands Quality Meats, said. “We’re probably about 150 metres away from the car park, so it makes things tricky,” he said. “But once they’re here, they know that we sell a great product, so we’re doing okay.”

A reliance on cars and parking is at the heart of the issue. “That car park fills up fast and then the customers who normally come on Saturday don’t actually have anywhere to park, which makes things tricky,” Mr Travers said. He said foot traffic provided about 20 per cent of their business, but otherwise they benefited from having been in place for long enough to have regular customers. “But we do receive a lot of complaints about uncleanliness, rubbish, graffiti, and then pressure on us to do something about it.”

The contrasting experiences of these shopping precincts highlight the diverse challenges and opportunities within Canberra’s local business landscape. As the ACT government invests in upgrades, the future of these local shops remains a topic of significant community interest.