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“I feel like the council is not thinking of the long-term effects of reopening the mall, plus it’s not just the mall that’s an issue.<\/p>\n
“The whole CBD is empty and opening the mall isn’t going to fill Mitchell Street and the other end of Hargreaves Street and the rest of the CBD.”<\/p>\n
She said she expects business to go backwards in the shop, rather than increase.<\/p>\n
“Lunchtime is our busiest period, between 12pm and 1.30pm,” she said.<\/p>\n
“When we’ve got the Bendigo Senior kids on lunch, a lot of them come in and spend a couple of bucks here and there.<\/p>\n
“People from businesses that knock off for lunch breaks come and ramble around too and we get a lot of people from Myer popping in.<\/p>\n
“I feel like opening it to the road will take away all of that.”<\/p>\n
She also thinks it may attract hoons.<\/p>\n
“There’s no speed bumps in there that are planned,” she said.<\/p>\n
“They say it’s 10 kilometres an hour, but there’s going to be nothing stopping people from going through there doing 60.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s just going to get worse.”<\/p>\n
Victoria Longa from Heavenly Melts cafe, however, said she also believes it will be good.<\/p>\n
“I feel like it’ll make this place a bit busier,” she said.<\/p>\n
“More businesses will want to come in and I think more people will want to have a shop.<\/p>\n
“All these places have been shutting down and I feel like people will want to actually try to open up something here if it’s a bit busier.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OPINIONS are differing among traders in the Hargreaves Mall after the announcement that a road will soon run through it. The fairly minor works to set up the new thoroughfare for vehicles are expected to begin soon and be completed by Spring. Anna Tuohy from family-owned JM Leech Jewellers – which will celebrate its 100th […]<\/p>\n