What is the City of Melbourne’s 2020 renewal plan for the Vic Market?

The City of Melbourne (CoM) vision for the market is a much-reduced market space.  

General Merchandise Traders and Speciality Stores are to be reduced to only 4 Sheds in total

City of Melbourne wants to use the other four sheds, which is HALF of the upper market, and the car park for non-market purposes and ‘events’ on a commercial basis.

Their plans also include moving traders into enclosed shops and banning all vehicles from the market sheds 

All loading and unloading of produce will occur in Queen St between the two halves of the market at stipulated times. 

No trader parking will be provided during the day on the market site

The City of Melbourne argues that these changes are necessary for the financial viability of the market. 

What does the renewal plan mean for traders and customers?

For traders this means: 

Vastly increased rents 

Double the overhead costs resulting in higher prices to customers

No trader parking during the day on the market site

Inconvenient, time-wasting, triple handling of goods 

Increased possibility of accidents;.

For Customers:

Fewer traders, less competition and higher food prices 

Fixed lock-up stores

Reduced customer parking

No on-street parking ( all parking underground in the Munro site)

No at-grade disabled or senior parking   

Pedestrianisation of the entire market

The theatrical hustle and bustle of our working market will be hidden from view

Why are we protesting the renewal plans?

The City of Melbourne’s plans will radically transform QVM into a commercial enterprise without history:  bland, generic, more expensive, and probably of little interest to visitors - a Las Vegas replica of its former self 

The mooted operational changes and ‘modernisation’ would remove QVM’s point of difference to conventional modern shopping centres

The ‘renewal’ puts at risk current small business and their employees

Regular market customers love the market’s hustle and bustle, value the freshness, variety, choice and the competition between traders that leads to low prices, as well as the existing environmentally sustainable market trading practices.   

The architectural integrity, and much of the tradition, uniqueness and authenticity of the QVM as a traditional open-air market will be lost.