Business leaders claim Wentworthville has been neglected for too long

Shop owners say drunk and violent people are pushing customers away

As the town declines, neighbouring Parramatta is ‘the next great city’

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WENTWORTHVILLE town centre is under siege from gangs, junkies and drunks who threaten staff and drive customers away, according to the local business community.

Business leaders have accused Holroyd Council of neglect while only four kilometres away Parramatta is “building the next great city” and attracting billions of dollars in investment.

Commercial property owner Jennifer Zheng said in the past 18 months she had been unable to let two of her properties because the centre was “too violent and people felt unsafe”.

“We have drunken people terrorising some of the shop owners,” she said.

media_camera Shop owners say they are regularly threatened in Wentworthville town centre. Picture: Phil Rogers

“Violence and intimidation are totally unacceptable and yet nothing is being done.

‘There is a belief that we have been totally neglected.”

Ms Zheng said junkies used alleyways and attempted to break into vacant premises in the area to shoot up.

type_quote_start “We have drunken people terrorising some of the shop owners” type_quote_end

“There are drunks walking around with bottles and abusive behaviour from teenagers.

“They scare away customers and the staff are afraid.”

media_camera Business owners claim Wentworthville has been neglected. Picture: Phil Rogers

Ms Zheng said businesses were struggling to keep their doors open and For Lease signs were common throughout Dunmore and Station streets.

When the Parramatta Advertiser visited this week, many of the vacant premises were run down and covered in graffiti, adding to the sense of decay and neglect.

Ms Zheng said business operators were concerned with the security and safety of people in Wentworthville.

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She said her only tenant, who runs a convenience store, complained of being abused or threatened up to three times a day.

She said police were called but the perpetrators had usually disappeared by the time they arrived.

type_quote_start “There are drunks walking around with bottles and abusive behaviour from teenagers” type_quote_end

Kai Zhang is closing down his discount store on Dunmore St after 10 years, fed up with dwindling customers and people stealing from the store.

He said installing a CCTV camera and chasing people down the street had failed to kerb the thefts.

media_camera There are many empty premises on Dunmore and Station streets at Wentworthville. Picture: Phil Rogers

“I call the police and they come and see the CCTV footage and they going away and we don’t hear from therm again. I understand they have bigger problems to worry about it.”

He said he would look for a store in another suburb “anywhere other than Wentworthville”.

Wentworthville Mall spokesman Russel Strahle said Parramatta was being promoted as the second Sydney CBD and Wentworthville was just four kilometres from Parramatta and less than two kilometres from the Westmead health and education precinct.

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Mr Strahle said jobs were critical to the area.

“We have already lost significant jobs with the closure of the Bonds factory.

“Wentworthville needs to create jobs, not lose them. We need leaders who have a vision.

“If, after 10 years, we have only achieved a few new apartment buildings, then we will have failed.”

Holroyd Council has initiated the Wentworthville Centre Revitalisation Project, which aims to develop and implement a new planning strategy for the town centre but business leaders claim progress is too slow.

The business community has been holding a series of forums to discuss ways of revitalising the town.

Ms Zheng said she hoped council would listen to the concerns of business owners and work with them to create a vibrant and safe new town centre in the heart of Western Sydney.

media_camera While Wentworthville is in decline, Parramatta is pushing ahead with bold plans for its CBD. Picture: Parramatta City Council

A Holroyd Council spokeswoman said council has not received any complaints about safety and security from business owners in Wentworthville.

She said a draft revitalisation strategy was not expected to be released for public consultation until September 2016.

“Initial works are envisaged to occur over the next couple of years and then major upgrade works in six or more years’ time.”