THE recent sale of several commercial properties in Kilmore’s central business district has paved the way for large-scale development, but is the town ready for a fresh start, or are we simply flogging a dead horse?
RHETT BURNIE reports
IT was once the pride of Victoria’s oldest inland town, a bustling retail precinct set among a flurry of charming Victorian-style buildings in a pretty little town called Kilmore.
People wandered from shop to shop, often stopping for a chat with a friendly face as they went about collecting the items on their hand-written shopping lists.
Yes, back in the day Sydney Street was a majestic centrepiece.
But as the years rolled on, the once charming shopping strip has now become nothing more than a distant memory, with very little of its previously intoxicating old world charm remaining.
Many blame the council and the state government for failing to ‘forward plan’, while others are convinced that the only way to breathe new life into Kilmore is to divert heavy traffic away from the town.
And they may be right.
Empty, dilapidated shopfronts litter the main street, while semi trailers and huge B doubles thunder through the town so frequently that when they’re not rocketing past the silence is, well, eerie.
What’s never missed is the stomach-churning stench that lingers in the main street after a passing livestock truck rolls through.
And as the years go on and the list of businesses shutting up shop grows longer, so to do the letters from concerned, loyal townsfolk who simply want to see a return to the golden days.
It’s true; poor old Sydney Street, once the belle of the ball, has been now become the ugly stepsister.
But with the recent purchase of several shops, as well as a former used car sales lot (previously a service station) in the centre of the street, the possibility of redeveloping and revitalising the heart of Kilmore is closer than it has been in a long time.
While the identity of the buyer, or buyers, cannot be confirmed, The Review can reveal the properties were purchased as an investment and the new owner will take ownership in February.
“Obviously I can’t say too much about the sale because of privacy reasons, but settlement is expected to take place in February,” marketing agent Robert Gordon said last Friday.
Mr Gordon said the properties were purchased with the intention to “…be made available for rent.”
Kilmore Chamber of Commerce President Robert Bradley said he believed the purchase signalled a positive change for the town.
“We don’t need empty caryards and vacant shops to remain a feature of Kilmore,” he said.
“The sale will certainly contribute to the revitalisation of Sydney Street and I assume that the investor is going to develop these shops with retail businesses in mind,” Mr Bradley said.
However, traffic flow issues in the town also need to be addressed, he said.
“The issue of being able to make Sydney Street a viable retail precinct is dependent on finding a solution for Kilmore’s traffic flow-though,” Mr Bradley said.
More carparks will also need to be created so shoppers can better access the CBD, he said.
“The council will have to look at car parking as it could become an issue,”
Some projects are already on the cards, with plans to rejuvenate Mill Street in their final stages.
“(The) focal space Mill Street project report is being finalised at the moment,” Mitchell Shire Council CEO David Keenan said.
‘The final report is likely to be presented to the Ordinary Council Meeting in February or March.”
VicRoads will also commence the installation of traffic lights at the intersection of Union and Sydney Streets in the middle of the year.
