High-profile restaurateurs and business owners have united to rally against a proposed location for a safe injecting room in Melbourne's CBD.
An open letter has been signed off by almost 40 traders calling on the state government to reconsider opening the facility at the Salvation Army building on Bourke Street.
While nothing has been confirmed, 9News understands the building is one of several locations being considered.
The location is directly opposite Guy Grossi's restaurant Florentino, which is one of the city's oldest restaurants, having been open since the late 1920s.
"I feel if that happens the area will lose value in sense of being a community, an area where people come to see shows, visit cafes, enjoy a friendly amenity that Melbourne needs to be.
"We have worked hard to rebuild over the past tough couple of years."
That was backed by Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt, who holds concerns over a CBD location.
"Police are on their knees in respect to resourcing," he said.
"We are feeling that in the CBD. We have protests almost every week, we have to keep the community safe from violent incidents.
"There is a lot to do in the city. When you have tourists, visitors and residents, you don't need an additional drug facility in the city, which will tie up units for hours on end."
Victoria's first medically supervised injecting room in North Richmond became a permanent service earlier this year.
Plans for a second safe injecting room in Melbourne were raised in 2020, after an independent review of Victoria's first medically supervised injecting room trial.
The state government has advised a decision on the location will be made in the coming weeks, with former top cop Ken Lay conducting an independent consultation into the idea.
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