By Aaron Cordy
THE redevelopment of Maude Street was meant to be the crowning jewel of the Shepparton CBD Revitalisation Project. Officially opened on Thursday, December 8 2022, with modern street furniture, shelters with solar panels, CCTV, audio, lighting, a new playground and the addition of one-way low-speed traffic, southbound from Fryers Street to High Street as well as on-street parking.
Two and-a-half years on, you can stroll through the precinct in the early afternoon on any given weekday, and find it resembles a Sunday evening rather than peak trading hours.
“We noticed around the end of March, April, especially around that school holiday period, it was deserted. There was no one around,” said Paul Kapsalis from Joe Paul Menswear.
There are more than 10 vacant shops in the Maude Street precinct, Fraser Street and the City Central Arcade. Some of the empty shops are in redevelopment with new businesses on the way. If you venture a little further out into Shepparton’s CBD there are more empty shops, and a few more expected to close in the coming months.
Intersport is just one business closing its doors, with June 30 expected to be with last day. Owner Gary ‘Nipper’ Harvey has seen the highs and lows of operating in the precinct – COVID, the October 2022 flood, and the redevelopment being the biggest obstacles he has faced in nearly 10 years of trade in the CBD. What may appear a surprising closure from the outside, for Nipper it was a matter of timing.
“We had a plan to do this for that nine-to-10-year mark, and we’re up to it. So, it’s more by design than anything else. The next phase of my life is beckoning. I knew my daughter was going to be 18 when we finished this up, and she’d be in Melbourne at uni, which she is. So eventually, I think we’ll end up moving back down there,” said Nipper on why Intersport is closing.
Several factors contribute to the empty business in the precinct, retirement and moving elsewhere among others. Allowing car traffic has opened the area up, with more than one business reporting their customers enjoying the convenience of pulling up in front of the business and ducking in for what they are after. But does this transfer into people strolling up and down the shopping precinct and perusing other businesses?
More cover seems to be one thing shop owners think would improve the precinct, and council-backed entertainment and activities for children have proven to draw crowds in the past, though more consistency was recommended by businesses.
Food is the other thing that the Maude Street precinct lacks. Fryers Street is teeming with cafes and restaurants and there are people everywhere. City Central Arcade has a food court, Fraser Street has multiple food outlets, but Maude Street as it stands only has Augustus Gelatery.
The owners of Pablos Burgers looked at locations in Maude Street precinct before settling on Fraser Street. Pablos is doing a great nighttime trade, and has recently opened for lunch as well. Co-owner Ali Al Battaat praised the opportunity to trade in Maude Street.
“I personally think it’s a great location. You’ve got foot traffic, car traffic now as well. The businesses here are quite connected. We’re a community within us, even though we might be in so many different industries,” said Ali.
“Council needs to support businesses, there are a lot of young business owners opening up. Some people might look at this like young people don’t know what they’re doing, the reality is the complete opposite. Young people bring new ideas. New ideas bring innovation. Innovation brings growth. Growth brings Economy. Economy brings success. It brings attraction, brings tourism.”
Online shopping has been the biggest shift in retail over the last five years. Retailers have weathered COVID-19, locally we had the floods, and in the Maude Street precinct, traders endured the disruption of the redevelopment. These factors when coupled with a cost-of-living crisis impacting families and small businesses, and the drought, which is having a devastating impact on farming families and primary producers, spells a difficult period for retailers and a time of flux.
People are shopping differently and spending less. According to analysis by the Institute of Public Affairs, over 129,000 Victorian businesses closed in 2024, with the state also recording the slowest growth in business since the pandemic. The challenges facing operators in the Maude Street precinct are the same as those faced by all retailers around the country, with no simple answers for business owners and local councils to attract and maintain a solid consumer base but one thing is for sure, our local businesses need the continued support of local people.
