Anti-social behaviour is on the rise in a South West shopping district, with business owners claiming drug use, public sex and vandalism is running rampant.

Vasse Village shopping centre businesses have come forward to the Times, revealing many are fearing for their safety, with one shop owner forced to take out a restraining order after repeated incidents.

Owners have claimed vandalism, glass smashing, abuse, drug use and intimidation have become a regular occurrence around the village arcade and City of Busselton-managed public toilets, prompting calls for stronger security measures and overnight toilet closures.

One Rustic Bloom owner Michelle Knipe, whose florist and gift shop sits opposite the public toilets, said the situation had deteriorated over recent years and was now affecting both businesses and the wider community.

“We’ve had people destroying the toilet area, and we haven’t had a baby change table because it’s been set alight or damaged at least three times,” she said.

“I now have parents coming into the shop asking where they can change their babies, so I have to put a towel on the floor and let them do it here.”

Mrs Knipe said anti-social behaviour involving high school-aged youths had become more common.

“In the mornings we’ll arrive and find people smoking bongs in the toilets. They’re having sex in there as well, and that happens in the afternoons too,” she said.

“They lock themselves in the toilets, play excessively loud music, and when they’ve gone there’s rubbish everywhere.

“We’ve been verbally abused and threatened. It’s just constant.”

Mrs Knipe said the ongoing incidents had also left her feeling unsafe after work.

“I’ve had someone waiting behind my car before. Everything has been reported to police and they’ve done a good job responding whenever we’ve called, but it just feels like a constant pattern, we don’t feel safe,” she said.

“Community is extremely important to us as small businesses, because without them we wouldn’t be here, so our customers’ safety matters too.”

Nutmeg Restore Recover Replenish owner Meg Mayger, whose business is next to the toilets, said she had experienced similar issues.

“We started telling the kids off gently, using the ‘mum voice’,” she said.

“Especially in the afternoons, they’re riding e-bikes and e-scooters through the arcade and streets without any regard for the safety of other people, particularly the elderly.”

Mrs Mayger said the situation escalated to the point where she sought a misconduct restraining order after one person began threatening her children.

“It’s one thing saying things to me, but to target my kids is another thing,” she said.

“I went and got a misconduct restraining order because I just wanted it to stop.

“It’s not only impacting our businesses. We’ve had to spend time away from work reporting incidents, and I spent four or five hours sitting at court waiting for my matter to be heard. That all cuts into running a small business.”

Both business owners are calling for the change table to be replaced and for the toilet block to be closed at night, along with additional cameras to be installed around the village.

Their concerns were echoed at a Vasse & Districts Community Committee meeting on Monday night, where residents gathered to discuss recent crime, including youth vandalism.

Busselton police officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Ryan Devine and City of Busselton community safety manager Rachel Ronco attended the meeting to listen and answer questions from the public.

In a statement issued to the Times, the City of Busselton said community safety remained a key priority for both the community and the city.

“In partnership with WA Police, the Department of Communities, St John WA, WA Country Health Service and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, the city is currently working to develop a community safety and crime prevention plan aimed at addressing local safety concerns, including vandalism, anti-social behaviour and crime,” the city said.

“To ensure the plan reflects community priorities, Edith Cowan University was engaged as an independent facilitator to undertake community consultation, including focus groups and a public survey, which closed on July 5.

“ECU will now analyse the feedback and provide the results to the partner agencies. The community safety and crime prevention plan will then be presented to council for consideration.”

The city said the concerns raised by Vasse business owners were recognised and form part of the broader discussions around community safety.

“The city has previously investigated opportunities to expand CCTV coverage and, in mid-May, applied for State Government funding through the CCTV grant program,” the city said.

“Vasse was identified as one of the priority locations within the city’s application. While the application was unsuccessful, the city will continue to pursue opportunities to improve public safety infrastructure where funding becomes available.

“The repeated vandalism of public facilities across the city is of concern and alternative solutions will be considered as part of ongoing asset management and community safety planning.”