A string of high profile break-ins and a downturn in trade during a five-month streetscaping upgrade has prompted Keilor shopkeepers to band together and form an incorporated traders association.
Newly appointed president of the Keilor Traders Association (KTA), Neville Young, said the group was born from a desire among business owners to promote the village and spread the word that it was a safe place.
It comes as some Keilor residents are pushing to revive the Keilor Neighbourhood Watch group amid fears of a “crime wave”.
The neighbourhood watch group ceased producing its weekly newsletters chronicling crime about five years ago. But a handful of violent burglaries – including an aggravated robbery last month at Bakers Delight – has prompted calls for the group to be rebirthed.
Mr Young, who owns jeweller Village Gem with his wife Margaret, said the KTA backed the idea for a revival of the neighbourhood watch group, but was adamant the village was not in the grip of a crime wave.
“The police don’t see Keilor as a high-risk area. We know some people are on edge, but it’s [crime] everywhere.
“We offer an environment that is friendly and safe, and just need the support of our community,” he said.
Mr Young said the KTA’s eight-member committee plans to market Keilor Village businesses.
“We need to get the word out to support local traders,” he said. “We’ve all been here for a long time, and we have good local clientele but we want to grow that,” he said.
One of the association’s first initiatives is to support next year’s Keilor Gift.
