More people, more often - new action plan for Hargreaves Mall.
Hargreaves Mall Action Plan
The City has adopted a proactive new Hargreaves Mall Action Plan to propel business attraction and ensure the city centre becomes a destination of choice for businesses, residents and visitors.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, current cost of living pressures and the changing nature of retail, the City of Greater Bendigo will be taking a more targeted approach to create a more vibrant, active and inviting city centre.
There is no one 'silver bullet' solution but the plan’s multi-pronged approach includes event activation, improved cleanliness, landscaping and changes to physical infrastructure, engaging a Business Attraction Broker to attract new businesses to the city centre and renewed stakeholder engagement to provide guidance on improving the city centre.
The City has set a three-year timeline to turn the city centre around, with the support of traders, landlords, support services and Victoria Police.
Short term actions (within 1 year)
- Remove the pop up park and replace it with a new landscaped area, including shade trees, seating and tables
- Increase cleaning services in Hargreaves Mall
- Increase funding for the activation of public spaces to enable more events to be held to attract people into the city centre
- Engage a specialist Business Attraction Broker to identify gaps in the retail and hospitality sector, and then target specific businesses to come to Bendigo
- Continue working with Myer to explore opportunities that reinforce the role of the department store as a city centre anchor tenant
- Restart a targeted Expression of Interest process for micro tenancy activation of the two repurposed lantern structures in Hargreaves Mall
- Establish formal city centre stakeholder groups to work collaboratively on social issues
- Develop marketing collateral/branding for the Bendigo city centre
- Update the wayfinding signs at either end of the Mall and at key locations across the city centre to reflect changes such as the location of the Bendigo Law Courts and Galkangu - Bendigo GovHub, ensuring signs present positively from an accessibility perspective
Medium-term actions (within 1-3 years)
- Reconfigure elements of the bus waiting facility in Hargreaves Mall to continue to offer seating but focus the visual connection to Mitchell Street
- Continue to advocate for reinstating three bus stops along Mitchell Street to reduce clustering in a single location
- Continue to advocate for changes to the bus network to improve accessibility across the city centre utilising both Mitchell Street and Chapel Street
- Continue making the city centre an easy place to move around on foot for people of all ages and abilities
Do you run a small business or are thinking of starting one?
The Hargreaves Mall lanterns are the perfect place for a shop front.
Put your money back into your business and rent for free for up to 6 months.
New landscaping
New landscaping is coming to Hargreaves Mall in September 2024 and will replace the existing green pop-up park in the centre of the Mall.
It will feature a large synthetic grassed area and three unique shade canopy structures that also light up at night.
Playful pops of colour in the form of new tables, seating and umbrellas will brighten up the Mall, together with beautiful new garden beds framed in a sustainable wood-blend product that also acts as further seating.
A stage, including disability access and umbrellas, will be incorporated into the landscaping and can host entertainers and support events in the Mall.
