By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Business owners next to a high-rise works site in Dandenong say their trade is being “destroyed” by works bollards and fences outside their stores.
The owners of A1 Supermarket and Maihen Barber on Scott Street say builders cordoned off all of the on-street parking lots in front of their stores with little warning – and just before Christmas.
The fences have remained, even while builder Promax had knocked off for weeks over the Christmas-New Year period.
It is what Greater Dandenong councillor Jim Memeti called the “salt rubbed into the wound” at a 13 February council meeting.
“This is their livelihoods. I really, really feel for them.
“These people are going to go broke by the time it’s finished. If we don’t do nothing about it, they won’t have a business to go back to.”
The bollards and fences were installed as part of works on The Lonsdale, a 15-storey apartment building at 27 Scott Street.
According to builder Promax, the cordoned-off area is a “WorkSafe and union requirement”. It protects drivers, workers and pedestrians as its crane lifts 12-tonne concrete panels and formwork.
A “horrified” A1 Supermarket owner Ali Hakimi says when the bollards went up – and while the worksite was idle – he missed out on trade during the “busiest time of year”.
This included thousands of interstate and overseas visitors for the Afghan Football Festival.
The supermarket is co-owned by two families of refugees from Afghanistan. It supports 13 family members in Dandenong as well as extended family stuck in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
After weathering Covid shutdowns, Mr Hakimi says he wants the bollards gone or his business of six years won’t survive.
His regular customers are shunning his store, believing it is closed. Some say the nearest alternative parking is too far away, he says.
“Every business has disabled parking. I don’t even have any car parking for my business.
“My sales dropped significantly and I literally watch my six years of effort to build a business is melting like an ice cream.
“How come an officer at council has issued a permit to someone without giving any regard to someone else’s life?”
Ali Qalandari, who owns the 18-year-old Maihen Barber business next door, says little notice was given prior to the enclosure.
“Someone from Promax just threw a letter inside on the same day.”
Cr Memeti says many cars had crashed into the bollards, which have narrowed the roadway.
“There could be a fatality if we don’t do something about it.”
He said Promax should instead use access from Robinson Street, where there was “plenty of room”.
However, Promax chief operations officer Oz Girgin says the large adjoining rear car park in Robinson Street couldn’t be used for its crane due to high-voltage overhead power lines.
“It is a crane bay, which semi-trucks will pull into carrying large tilt panels, some are 12 tonnes heavy.
“The crane will lift the concrete panels from this crane bay into site where they will be installed.”
Semi-trucks were also too large to manoeuvre into the rear laneway.
The bollards and screens went in on 19 December as an “immediate requirement” and as soon as permit approval was received, Mr Girgin says.
Notice was given to surrounding businesses “well prior to installation” via a letter dated 16 December.
Works at The Lonsdale stopped between Christmas and the second week of January, he said.
Since then, the crane bay and loading area was used “almost daily for deliveries”.
“As the construction ramps up, we will be utilising this area constantly.”
Mr Girgin says 100-plus onsite workers could potentially add to the A1 supermarket’s “solid and repetitive” customer base.
“With the conjunction of our workforce on site and that solid customer base, A1 revenue will no doubt increase substantially.”
Engineering director Paul Kearsley said offers had been made to the businesses for “Shops Open’ placards on the fences as well as additional rear car parking at a “discounted rate”.
Both offers were refused by the small businesses. Mr Hakimi says the parking spots were at the far end of the Robinson Street car park and far from his store.
Mr Kearsley said the council had asked for the builder and owner to reduce the number of parking bays blocked off, but this had “not been taken up”.
“In the end, we need to have both parties talking about solutions.
“We can’t enforce the removal of these (screens and bollards) because they need them for construction vehicles.”
