AFTER nine months of inactivity at the burnt-out site of the Whitsunday Shopping Centre, a new plan is finally coming together.

A car park proposal is reportedly in the works, the tenants having seen a draft of the new development.

While Whitsunday Shopping Centre would not confirm the report, a representative did say a decision would be coming soon.

"We are working with Whitsunday Regional Council on a development application for the fire-damaged area," centre management said.

The fire in April destroyed numerous stores, including Target.

A statement from Target confirmed the retail chain would not be returning to the site.

"Currently Target has no confirmed plans to rebuild the Target store at the Whitsunday Shopping Centre, however, we are always looking for new opportunities," a statement read.

While many stores have since relocated, some have still not recovered nine months after the tragic fire.

Some tenants at the centre acknowledged the downturn and commented on the car park proposal.

"We lost a lot of big things, like the banks. We've lost the foot traffic," The Orange Quote owner Aaron Paull said.

Berny Montgomery, manager of Kazza's Barber Shop, said ideally a big name department store could have occupied the space.

"I'd like to see something other than a car park but I understand it will be an asset and more user- friendly," she said.

"At the same time I think it could be put to much better use, a car park is better than the fence there at the moment."

Helen Pike, owner of Goodness Gracious, said the shopping centre needed a "new lease on life".

"The morale in the shopping centre is down. We were a little community (before the fire). When we lost half our shops, we lost our friends. They were like family," she said.

"It's good the walls are coming down but I think the car park is not a positive step forward."

Cherrie Baby Boutique owner Sophie Camm is in the process of moving her shop to Proserpine.

" There used to be a lot more people in the centre. Since the fire it's just been really quiet," she said.

"We've seen images of the proposed new car park. I'd just prefer to see the centre rebuild."

Master Butchers Whitsundays owner Karen Rix said while she'd noticed a change since the fire, her figures weren't badly affected.

"In the last nine months there's definitely been a lot less shopping at the centre," she said.

"In turn my business has been slightly affected but not greatly."

The future of the centre is expected to be confirmed in coming weeks.