Ballarat business operators are at breaking point as antisocial behaviour reaches "out of control" levels in an area earmarked for a major retail development.
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Authorities this week pledged to increase police patrols and CCTV monitoring in the Little Bridge Street shopping precinct as concerns mount over the incidence of harassment and vandalism.
Police and Ballarat City Council officers met with some 15 Little Bridge Street business representatives on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing issues, which threaten to take the shine off the nearby multimillion dollar Bridge Mall redevelopment.
That same day, about 1.30pm, Little Bridge Street business Rose Massage allegedly had a frightening visit from several male youths who entered the premises to hurl verbal abuse at the female business owner and her employee Punyupa Chamnongsart.
Ms Chamnongsart, who phoned triple zero to report the incident, told The Courier the two-month-old business had been targeted a number of times previously, including a group of youths allegedly bursting in on a female customer while she was changing clothes.
The alleged ongoing harassment is not only bad for business, Ms Chamnongsart said, but has started to severely affect her mental health.
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The 29-year-old said she feels "unsafe and unprotected" at work after four weeks of increasingly "aggressive" taunting such as being called a "Chinese sl*t".
"It's out of control now. At one stage a couple of weeks ago, it was happening almost every day," she said.
"We just want to work peacefully, but I wake up every day worrying.
"When they're bashing on the windows when I'm with a customer, I start shaking.
"But it just keeps happening, on and on and on."
Acting Sergeant Dominic Alderman, who attended Wednesday's meeting, told The Courier police would "recanvas" the area over the next few weeks to assess the impact of increased patrols.
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Acting Sergeant Alderman acknowledged the concerns of the business community as issues around the Little Bridge Street bus interchange "spilled out" to the shopping mall and nearby supermarkets.
"It's certainly an issue that we're looking at as one of the community priorities," he said.
"From a police perspective, it's important because it's very central to the CBD, we get a lot of traffic through there - foot traffic and cars - and I want it to be a more positive experience.
"At the moment, you go into that area and it's a magnet for people wanting to mark it with graffiti and just youths hanging around causing issues - it's not the most attractive look.
"And we've got children using public transport and using that bus stop as an interchange, so there's a concern as well that you could have innocent kids exposed to other persons that offending is a lifestyle for."
City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Des Hudson said council officers were "actively working" with Victoria Police, the Bridge Mall Traders Association and individual traders to address the issues.
Cr Hudson said the response would include work around graffiti prevention, antisocial behaviour and potential further upgrades at the Little Bridget Street bus interchange space.
Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison on Thursday confirmed she had spoken with Ms Chamnongsart and on reviewing CCTV footage of the latest incident at Rose Massage immediately referred the matter to the police minister's office for follow up.
Bridge Mall Business Association was contacted for comment.
