PUSH TO FIX UP PLAZA EYESORE
MP’S petition calls on council to force company that owns
LES Walker has taken aim at an investment company over the state of Edison Plaza in Wulguru.
The state MP, who also represented the area while on Townsville City Council, is petitioning the council to force owner RHT Investments to clean up the plaza. With smashed and missing windows, boarded up shops and dirty facilities, the MP said the once bustling shops were in dire need of a facelift.
RHT Investments, which is registered to Peter Dutton’s wife Kirilly Dutton, has owned the property since 2016.
On his website, Mr Walker said the plaza once hosted small businesses including a fish and chip shop, GP clinic, convenience store, bakery, butcher, hairdresser and more.
The one remaining tenant, Sun Jewels Chinese Takeaway, Mr Walker wrote on his website was “immaculately clean” and often visited by residents. Mr Walker has called on the city council to ensure the property owners and investors take responsibility for cleaning up the property to help return the plaza to its former glory.
“Edison Plaza in Wulguru is in a poor state and something needs to be done about it, which is why I’ve begun this petition,” Mr Walker told the Bulletin.
“It’s vital that the owners do something about the centre as parts of it have fallen into disrepair.
“Edison Plaza was once a bustling part of Wulguru and it’s sad to see the state it is now in. I’m urging the owners to work with Townsville City Council on fixing this problem.”
The city council put in place a new local law earlier this year that would allow it to fine property owners who do not clean up unsightly buildings.
While the local law is being trialled in the CBD and Vin