FRANKSTON’S Bayside Shopping Centre has been earmarked for one of 12 new police “shopfronts” if the Liberal Nationals coalition wins the November state election. The $7.2 million plan to put police inside some of the state’s main shopping centres is described as a “new approach to policing and community engagement providing a more visible police presence to deter crime”. Bayside’s executive general manager Justin Mills said the opposition’s proposal was “another way we can build on our longstanding partnership with Victoria Police, to engage our communities, and make our centres destinations people love to visit and connect with.” The shopfronts…
Author: Stephen Taylor
A PENSIONER’S fears that he could be evicted from his fourth rental property in as many years struck a chord with readers – and it seems help is at hand. Larry (surname withheld) said he feared becoming homeless if the new owners of his Hastings unit decided to renovate or move in themselves – or perhaps re-let it at a higher rental. Either way he would be forced to look for a new home – with the few available being offered at rents he could not afford (“Renters face tight vacancy rates, higher rents”, The Times, 5/2/2018). A reader has…
WITH a recent history that includes 17 crashes requiring emergency services, the intersection of Western Port Highway and Robinsons Road, Langwarrin, is receiving an overdue upgrade. A roundabout at the intersection is expected to be completed in June. Of the 17 crashes during the five years to June 2015, 14 involved cross traffic which resulted in seven serious injuries and two fatalities – one involving 19-year-old Olivia Steadman-Meconi, of Mt Eliza, who crashed in May, 2015. Her death heralded the start of a campaign for a roundabout. At the time, Hastings MP Neale Burgess delivered a petition to parliament urging…
THE shortage of safe, long-term accommodation for those affected by mental illness in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula has one man fearing for the plight of a family member. John Bradford, of Mt Martha, said “issues with drugs and alcohol” five years ago had forced him to try to find alternative accommodation for a relative with a mental condition. A search for suitable government-run accommodation proved fruitless and the alternatives, such as privately-run boarding and rooming houses, were often unsafe and cramped. The family member, a man whose name has been withheld, prefers to sleep on the streets of…
STRONG demand for long term rental properties on the Mornington Peninsula has created a tight vacancy rate. Some real estate agents have no places available and others just a few. Vacancies are usually snapped as soon as they are advertised. The demand has allowed landlords to push up rents by 10 per cent in some areas, making it hard for tenants to afford the property they want. Harcourts rental department manager Shae Trewin said the throng of prospective tenants meant vacant properties go straight onto a data-base. Those who have already been vetted are notified immediately – without the property…