Melbourne’s skating community has rallied around a Mitcham indoor skate park, which could be forced to close down this week following a tenancy dispute.
The owners of Rampit, a community skate park, received an eviction notice on October 23 following a dispute after a late rent payment in February.
According to owners, the landlord cashed in the bank guarantee a week after he claimed he did not receive the rent payment.
The venue, which opened in 2010, operates cost neutral, meaning it does not generate a profit.
Owner Anna Magdziarz said she and her husband, Rob, run the business “for the benefit of the local community” and they both have full-time jobs.
Ms Magdziarz said she has always paid rent and bills on time before the February lapse and that she had attempted to negotiate with the real-estate agent, Dawsons Real Estate, to get a three-month stay in an effort to trade positively for three months and obtain a bank loan.
But the landlord had posted the eviction notice independent of the realtors.
Dawsons Real Estate did not respond to a request for comment.
The couple must now come up with about $21,000 to renew the bank guarantee and to keep the doors open until mid-November.
“Obviously I am very upset and very worried,” Ms Magdziarz said. “We have put three years of heart and soul into it.”
The venue has become popular in the past three years with visits from international identities including pro-skater Ryan Sheckler and performer Lil Wayne.
Support and fund-raising efforts from the skateboarding, inline skating and scooting community have so far raised about $8000 towards keeping the venue open.
On October 29 Bayside Blades Skates and Melbourne Rollerblading hosted a fund-raising barbecue at Rampit.
A Save Rampit Day was planned for Melbourne Cup day, with competitions and prizes to help with the fund-raising effort.
» More information: www.facebook.com/pages/Rampit/123015624394899
