FAQs
Isn’t the fight over since Heritage Victoria rejected the 2017 plan?
No, a new application has been made to Heritage Victoria in March 2020
For more information regarding these plans please click here to view the Latest Development Plans page.
Is the redevelopment necessary to ‘save’ the QVM?
No, it is not necessary, and it will destroy the QVM!
The City of Melbourne claims: “The 2017 independent business case leaves us in no doubt that doing nothing at Queen Victoria Market is not an option. The future of the market is at risk and we must get on with this renewal to secure its future.”
BUT The so-called ‘independent’ business case was commissioned by the Council, and the ‘evidence’ it quotes comes from other council sponsored research. The business case has been written to fit the proposed ‘renewal’ plans, not the other way around. A close reading of the business case, and its updates (including the current ‘Economic Justification/ also shows they are incomplete, contradictory and unsubstantiated.
The redevelopment will disrupt and potentially destroy 400 + small family businesses. The number of customer car parking spaces will be reduced from 700+ to 500. The 5-year building program will seriously compromise market operation, and especially tourism.
The development is supposed to contribute thousands of jobs but the change in market operations will disrupt and potentially destroy 400 + small family businesses with ensuing job losses including employees, which are far more than the claimed 2,500 jobs created during construction!
Will the market be the same after the redevelopment?
No, it will not!
The 'renewal' is not a ‘substantial upgrade' that will protect our ‘treasured’ market; but rather a fundamental change in the nature and operations of the market, which will turn the QVM into a bland, generic, more expensive, commercial enterprise of little interest to visitors. The changes will be huge: Robert Doyle claimed this is ‘the biggest project the City of Melbourne has ever undertaken.”
The market Retail Plan shows the City of Melbourne wants to change the market’s traditional operations so it becomes an events space selling fast food, coffee and alcohol, alongside limited upmarket food and fresh produce stalls, like a supermarket with “a refreshed environment that combines the restored heritage shed with quality presentation stalls, lighting and ambient climate control ‘(sic). Business Plan, p.56)
Heritage Victoria found that the City of Melbourne’s original plans breached the strict heritage controls on the market.
The 2017 plans as submitted included taking down 4 of the heritage-listed sheds in order to dig three levels below ground, and installing absurdly expensive below ground operational areas, storage and parking to hide the traditional operation and destroy the ambience of the market. To isolate the vehicle access to the underground area they proposed to destroy the appearance of the open market sheds with banks of floor to ceiling lifts and ventilation shafts protruding above the roof and high walls through the sheds.
The latest version of the ‘renewal plans’ includes new 2 modern sheds intruding right into the centre of the market, in order to remove all loading and unloading from under the sheds and from the current carpark. This will create a logistical nightmare and make it very difficult for the traditional market to survive.
The extent of the mooted ‘renewal’ will reduce or even remove the greatest attraction of the market, which is its traditions, its heritage and its point of difference to conventional modern shopping centres.
Is current market trading dangerous or in breach of OH and S regulations?
There is no history of risk to public safety or health at QVM.
OHS risks are the major argument presented by CoM for new infrastructure but no evidence is provided of actual risks. In particular, there is no history of any accidents ever between forklifts and pedestrians. The risk analysis submitted by CoM (Safety and Logistics Management Report) does not include any statistics showing the historic impact of vehicle activities: there are no records of accidents at the market. (Our information is that these have never happened).
Better management practices could alleviate many potential issues. In effect, every car park in Melbourne, allows shared use of space by vehicles and pedestrians.
Traditionally, market goods are moved around and displayed in bulk. Moving the hustle, bustle and theatre of a working market out of the sheds into specific times and places would significantly alter the traditional and much valued interaction between and customers.
No evidence has been supplied of incidents of inappropriate food handling.
Remarkably, compliance by providing sinks and hot water is not addressed at all as part of this application: ‘The intent of this project is not [emphasis added] to complete the installation of the sinks, etc. but to provide the services infrastructure (cold shell) sufficient to operate a compliant business in today’s environment and to enable the installation as part of a future project (tenant ‘fit out’).’(Heritage Impact Statement P.7)
While it is necessary for compliance with legislation to provide hot water, (and power and internet) to the sheds, the proposed ‘renewal’ infrastructure goes way beyond what is necessary to achieve this.
Is the market in decline?
No, in 2016-17, QVM more than covered its costs.
QVM has generated significant profits for the CoM, which were never invested back in the market.
Recently the market has been significantly run down, possibly to justify its future development.
However, expenditure on managers has blown out. Over the past 5 years, QVM has had 3 Board appointed CEO’s and 3 acting CEO’s, none of whom have had market retail experience.
Numerous Board initiatives to ‘modernize’ or gentrify the market have failed. However, the traditional market businesses remain profitable in spite of poor management of the market, including reported bullying by managers.
Management staff numbers until COVID-19 have blown out to 50+, excluding cleaners and security.
Publically available annual reports (for the past 2 years only) are not transparent regarding management salaries, among other information.
QVM P/L has not made public the 2018 – 19 Financial Report.
Hands off the Queen Victoria Market, which belongs to the people of Victoria!