Positive local businesswomen, Jamie Savory, is seeking community support in a commercial expression of interest process petition for the property owned by East Gippsland Shire at the top of Palmers Road, Lakes Entrance.

Ms Savory said she believed the current shire building and land was being under-utilised and would be of significant benefit to ratepayers ideally leased long-term to a tourism resort operator to provide economic stimulus for the Lakes Entrance community.

She said a number of local businesses have already shown their support for the petition and she wants to work with the shire to make best use of the site.

“In Lakes at the minute there is a little bit of an issue that we have with a lot of empty shops - I think there are 18 or 20 vacant shops,” she said.

“There is clearly an issue there in terms of the business community and everyone getting together. We need some sort of stimulus.

“I was in Lakes Entrance the other day and I drove up the top of Palmers Road and thought ‘look at this view, it is absolutely magic’.

“That building is owned by the shire, so it’s on council land. So thought why in God’s name would we not just move this handful of staff to a different building.

“I understand because of the use of the building there are probably some legalities there.

“But my issue is raising the awareness and getting people to sign the petition – I need 700 signatures on a piece of paper so that it can go to the council chambers and they have to acknowledge that the support is there from the community.

“I don’t have the ins and outs of what to put there, my problem is just saying we have this asset here, we have an issue in Lakes Entrance, does this not fix or help that issue.

“If we could get an RACV Club there or a Peppers or something like that it would be huge.”

Ms Savory said she hopes to “get enough signatures on a piece of paper, hopefully, council will at least explore the option to do something there”.

“I have spoken to (East Gippsland Shire mayor) Cr Joe Rettino about it, it’s nothing in relation to what to put there, it’s just a petition to get a commercial expression of interest process,” she said.

Ms Savory believes the land is not being used to its full potential and said she wants to work with the shire, “go through a process to see what interest we get”.

A number of Lakes Entrance businesses have the petition.

“I get sick of people saying ‘Lakes is going downhill, there are so many empty shops’, but no one does anything about it.

“If we go in as a collective group of people that want do something about it, there is more chance something will happen.”