Calls to revitalise Bunbury and Albany CBDs as struggling retail leaves empty shops
Retailers throughout Australia are struggling to compete with online markets and battling to attract customers at a time when many people are unable to make ends meet.
The situation has prompted calls from locals in Albany and Bunbury to make each city's CBD cool again.
While Bunbury, 170km south of Perth, is WA's largest regional city, the population has not helped local businesses escape the slump.
Former restaurateur Calum Murphy found it particularly difficult to keep afloat, closing his burger shop in 2023 after just two years operation.
"The price of rent in town is really high at the moment," he said
"And everything from food to energy all started to go up after the pandemic.
A further 330km south, empty shops and "for lease" signs are a similarly regular sight in Albany.
Jeweller Vivian Cann is set to retire and close her Middleton Loop shop after more than 20 years in business.
"Retail has been hard," she said.
"People don't have the time to go shopping when they've got kids and school, and they're working full time.
"And the cost of living has had a huge impact."
Genevieve Mardon's clothing store in Bunbury also struggled, opening in 2020 but shutting two years later.
The long-term resident remembered Bunbury "thriving" in the 1980s.
"People just don't come into the CBD anymore like they used to," she said.
But while big money had been spent bringing sporting stars to Bunbury, Ms Mardon said the city had little else to offer.
Other businesses have raised concerns about theft and threatening behaviour, which some say had become commonplace in the Bunbury city centre.
Geraldton, 400km north of Perth and WA's second-largest regional city, faced similar problems in its CBD six months ago.
They turned to the Town Team Movement, a social enterprise set up to foster active citizenship and development from within smaller communities.
Spokesperson Julian Canny said it took some simple steps to turn things around.
"We had pavement art that went onto arcades that have been needing a bit of love," he said.
"We had kids cutting up stickers and putting them all over the [empty] windows.
Now, he said, business owners were keen to invest.
"We have a cafe strip that used to be one shop on the east end of Marine Terrace that now runs the whole length of our mall, and you cannot walk through without seeing people from end to end," Mr Canny said.
He urged other areas to explore similar initiatives.
"Who is already doing great things? And how do we build on their stuff? From there it just slowly snowballs and grows," Mr Canny said.
Back in Bunbury the business community believes tourism and hospitality will provide the spark the city centre needs.
The head of the Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sean McKeown, said businesses were keen to embrace new opportunities.
"There are plans for a bigger hotel in town … and we have seen recently new owners for one of the hotels bringing in live music and entertainment."
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