Jade Jungwirth
A number of Maldon shop owners have expressed outrage at a new red arrow pointing to ‘Santa and the Christmas Shop’ (Vanilla Spice).
Traders approached members of Maldon Inc (Maldon’s business association) to discuss their anger and confusion regarding a new addition to the Maldon wayfinder sign that is promoting the Maldon Christmas shop.
Secretary of Maldon Inc, Pamela Jewson, wrote to the council on behalf of the traders, asking why a privately owned Christmas shop was receiving a special promotion when many shops in town were selling Christmas decorations and other Christmas items.
Ms Jewson told the Express she was very happy to receive a prompt response from the council.
The council representative responded stating that the signs were a small part of a larger Christmas campaign in the region and assured Ms Jewson that heritage was consulted before the signs were installed.
“The Christmas shop helped us with competitive prices and short timelines for Christmas decorations for the shire, which is another reason we wanted to promote them,” the council representative said.
“Vanilla Spice’s decorations will be on display at bank corner.”
“We wanted to support hyper-local suppliers, rather than have our decorations purchased from overseas or outside our region wherever possible.”
Ms Jewson said she believed the council had good intentions but prior discussions would have been helpful.
“Maldon Inc is planning to try and form a stronger partnership with the council, to become a conduit between members of Maldon Inc and the council, so we can be aware of decisions relating to Maldon,” Ms Jewson said.
For a full schedule of Christmas events in the region visit: www.bendigoregion.com.au/visit-castlemaine-maldon/christmas-in-castlemaine-maldon-and-surrounds
