The forgotten ones

By Lilly O’Gorman
LOST, forgotten and in desperate need of a facelift – Main Street traders say they have been left behind as Pakenham, and its many major retail developments, swells.
Gone are the days where Main Street was the central hub, now it’s unlikely visitors, and even residents, know where to find it.
High rents are forcing a diverse range of retailers out and an influx of real estate agents in, traders say.
More than 70 Pakenham retailers and business owners turned out last week for a business forum at the Pakenham Hall, instigated by the Pakenham Business Group. Cardinia Shire Council CEO Garry McQuillan and councillors Graeme Moore, Collin Ross and George Blenkhorn also attended to hear the concerns.
PGB president Joanne Staindl-Johnson said the meeting was a response to growing concerns among the business community.
“It has come to our attention in recent months that there are potentially challenges (facing businesses),” Ms Staindl-Johnson said.
Challenges such as parking, a lack of retail stores, limited access between the new Woolworths shopping complex and Main Street and poor signage were among the many issues raised.
Some argued that, as the population grew, the once prosperous shopping strip had become lost in a “disjointed” town.
Adam Kellett of Get Smart Hi Fi in John Street, said in the last five years his business had declined by half.
“I have been here for 14 years. I moved to Pakenham because I thought it was a nice country town,” Mr Kellett said.
“We have three times the people living here than when I first opened the shop.
“The local town is cut into many small sectors and the main retail shopping precinct has been decimated.
“There is no incentive to bring kids here; (because there are) no movies, pinball or bowling.”
Jacob Cosentino of clothing store Inception Pakenham, said the town was “disgusting” and didn’t give customers a “good feeling when they walked in”.
One trader argued Pakenham had “lost its identity” and risked becoming a dormant town “where people work, shop and eat somewhere else and come here to sleep.”
Jack Mitchell, judge of the Cardinia Business Awards and immediate past president of the Lakeside Residents Group agreed.
“We love Pakenham, and we’ve got to get people into Main Street, but we’ve got to make it attractive,” he said.
Parking was also said to be a constant pain for shoppers. Customers of Sewing Connection aged from 60 to 80 years old were forced to carry 12kg sewing machines from the Coles car park to the store off Main Street because there is only short-term parking near the store.
It was suggested a voucher system for regular customers could be introduced.
Introducing a regular weekend market, Pakenham-wide sale events and moving Yakkerboo to a Saturday afternoon were all raised as possible ways to attract people into town.
Attendees vowed to take action, including lobbying VicRoads for better signs directing visitors from the highway and bypass and into town.
VicRoads and Cardinia Shire Council did not provide responses to the Gazette in time for publication.
Ms Staindl-Johnson said a meeting would be held in a month’s time and there would be progress on at least some of the problems raised.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 14 August at Pakenham Hall from 6pm sharp to 8pm.