The ACT Greens have joined the fight to transform the Richardson Shops. Photo: Laura Nuttall MLA, Facebook.
More than 200 Richardson residents have voted on what they’d like to happen to their long-derelict local shopping centre, in a new push by the ACT Greens to finally get some action.
Richardson Shops on Clift Crescent has been boarded up since its anchor tenant, an IGA supermarket, left in 2019, followed by the hairdressing salon next door in 2022.
The only visitors it’s attracted since then have been vandals, interested in either breaking into or graffitiing the building.
Four petitions have been brought to the ACT Government over the years to do something about it, the latest in 2024 by ACT Labor MLA Caitlin Tough.
“I know how important it is for residents to have access to services and to have local facilities maintained and kept clean,” Ms Tough said.
“The owners of Richardson Shops seem to have failed the local community on both of those things.”
Among the petitioners’ demands were a “full update from the owner on any future plans for the site” and “advice of what alternate use of the land and site can be considered”.
In his response, ACT Planning and Sustainable Development Minister Chris Steel said contact with the site’s owners revealed they were “experiencing difficulties securing a tenant”, but the government’s hands were tied due to the fact that they were not in breach of their lease obligations.
“I would like to reiterate that the government is not in a position to mandate or apply a timeframe on the lessee to secure a tenant for the site,” he wrote.
However, Mr Steel added the government would look at releasing sites on nearby public land to market to “encourage activation of the shopping site and … further activity at the Richardson Shops”.
With no action seemingly taken yet, the ACT Greens have joined the fight.
Tuggeranong Greens MLA Laura Nuttall will move a motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (24 June) calling on the government and owners to “finally respond” to community demands to fix the shops.
“Seeing Richardson Shops go from a hub for our community to a vacant eyesore was one of my biggest motivators for getting into local politics and over the last couple of months I’ve seen just how much the community shares this passion,” she said.
The Greens recently conducted a survey of more than 200 local residents, and found more than 95 per cent wanted to see the shops redeveloped and reopened.
Results of the Richardson Shops survey. Image: ACT Greens.
Another 3.9 per cent said it should be demolished while only one per cent said it should “remain vacant/as it is”.
Of the 203 responses received, 165 voted for the return of shops, cafes and restaurants, 78 wanted it to host community groups such as a scout hall or sports facility, 75 thought it should offer local community services like health care, a library or an Access Canberra shopfront.
Another 70 argued for “shop-top housing”, like those in Manuka. Smaller numbers wanted an education or childcare centre (26), housing (18) and “other” (13) on the site.
“Whether it be a supermarket, café, chemist or shop-top housing, what the people of Richardson have overwhelmingly told me is that there needs to be at least something there,” Miss Nuttall said.
“I’ve been quite struck by the number of conversations I’ve had with Richardson locals about the importance of this site to the community.
“When it was thriving, residents really valued the ability to access their local shops easily even if they didn’t or couldn’t drive. They loved Richardson Shops as a community meeting place and six years on they still see the potential for the site.
“A derelict, empty building serves nobody, so we’re calling on both the owners and the government to step up and do the right thing by the community.”
Miss Nuttall’s motion calls for the government to review its crown lease agreements and potentially include a new “compulsory withdrawal clause” for properties left vacant for more than a year.
“We’re also asking the government to consider a commercial vacancy levy to ensure there is no financial incentive for leaving buildings like this empty,” she said.
“We’ve seen multiple petitions representing years of community calls to fix Richardson Shops, but we’re yet to see the action that we actually need. It’s time for the owners and government to step up, because it’s been community losing out in the meantime.”
Caitlin Tough was contacted for comment.
