BREAKING: Cold Rock Ice Creamery Cronulla Closing After 22 Years, Replaced By E-Bike Charging & Mall Monitoring Command Centre

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

23 March 2026

CRONULLA - In a move described as a “natural evolution of mall safety and flow management,” Cold Rock Ice Creamery in Cronulla Mall will close after 22 years to make way for a combined E-Bike Charging Hub and Mall Monitoring Command Centre.

The new facility will act as the base for a proposed Volunteer Mall Monitor Taskforce, with trained e-bike riders deployed throughout the mall to oversee pedestrian behaviour, maintain order, and gently correct emerging situations in real time.

Council sources say the initiative follows “extensive observation” confirming that e-bike users are already highly effective at navigating crowds, identifying disruptions, and reappearing unexpectedly.

“Rather than resist it, we’re formalising it,” said one insider. “They move quickly, they cover ground, and people instinctively get out of the way. It’s efficient.”

Under the model, riders will patrol key areas of the mall, focusing on keeping playground activity contained, discouraging unnecessary loitering, and maintaining steady pedestrian movement.

Officials say particular attention will be given to “rogue toddler drift” and what has been described as “high-energy child spillover events.”

The former Cold Rock site will be retrofitted into a high-capacity e-bike charging hub, allowing continuous rotation of patrol riders, alongside a central monitoring room equipped with live feeds and tracking screens to oversee mall activity, rider positioning, and overall flow.

Early modelling suggests the presence of circulating e-bikes will reduce hesitation, improve walking efficiency, and introduce a subtle sense of accountability across the precinct.

Long-time Cold Rock owner David Rose confirmed the closure.

“We’re sad to be going - we’ve been here 22 years,” he said. “But you can’t stand in the way of progress. Or being told to keep moving.”

At time of publication, recruitment is underway, with early applicants reportedly drawn to the role’s “authority-adjacent energy and unlimited charging access.”

Sources confirm patrols are expected to commence shortly - with Cronulla Mall entering what planners describe as  “a more actively managed phase.”

More to come -