Rod Mitchell’s series of articles on Acland Street seems to be vindicated by the Sydney Morning Herald report that Acland Street has the highest retail vacancy rates in Melbourne (see chart above) with more than one in four shops empty, while other suburbs enjoyed declining vacancy rates. For example, High Street in Armadale had its vacancy rates fall from 10.3% to 3.6%, while Church Street in Brighton had the lowest vacancy rates of 0.6%.

The SMH article also quotes the owners of the Globe shoe store who decided to relocate to Port Melbourne because their sales had declined by 60% and never came back after the closure of traffic in 2016. Other traders have said that rents have pushed out businesses.

Rod Mitchell has suggested that Acland Street need a Master Plan to restore Acland Street to a thriving business precinct. What do you think? Send your thoughts to mail@ropp.org.au

Source:https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-melbourne-tshopping-strip-where-one-in-four-stores-is-empty-20230531-p5dcvj.html

Photo by Mike Stevens on Unsplash