‘A bit rich’: Questions asked as markets put on hold

A Brisbane councillor has questioned why a popular new Sunday market has been forced to pause operations until 2025 while approvals are resolved.

Rivermakers Farmers and Artisan Markets in Colmslie made the decision to pause to “clarify the statutory approvals in response to a singular complaint by a neighbouring business”.

The market opened in July as a weekly event, attracting a complaint to council from the neighbouring Australian Country Choice abattoir, which argued traffic from visitors to the market was preventing cattle trucks from accessing the abattoir.

The market has caused a stir in the industrial neighbourhood.Credit: Goodwill Projects

The market returned in August with a monthly schedule, but the September 15 event has been cancelled.

“We will continue to work with council and other stakeholders to resolve issues that have stopped this market from being a regular much-needed event for the local community,” a Rivermakers precinct spokesperson said.

A council spokesperson said that for the market to be approved the landowner, BMI Group, would need to receive development approval for a change of use, “which is both in line with council’s planning rules and the state government’s TLPI [temporary local planning instrument] which has overlaid the site since 2021”.

“The market operator [Goodwill Projects] would need approval for an event permit and have a suitable traffic management plan,” the spokesperson said.

Labor councillor for Morningside ward Lucy Collier told this masthead the council was not taking a proactive approach to solving the problem.

“They haven’t reached out to me despite me asking multiple times for a briefing. They haven’t worked proactively with the organisers and the community,” Collier said.

“There are a lot of small businesses and traders who are relying on this income, they’ve bought stock and employed staff …

“It’s a bit rich for council to say it’s business-friendly when they seem to be wanting to shut them down at every turn.

“My heart goes out to the organisers because they’re not some cowboys doing a market for the first time, these are experienced professional market organisers.”

Collier also questioned why a traffic management plan previously approved by council was rescinded three days before the last market was held.

The council previously told this masthead the traffic management plan was rescinded after a “significant discrepancy” in expected attendance was discovered between their traffic management plan and the event permit application.

“That’s not a reason to just straight up say, ‘no, you can’t have traffic management’,” Collier said.

“You should be working with them proactively to solve this problem.”

Social media comment in response to the postponement was overwhelmingly in support of the market.

“It’s awful how one person can ruin the market for thousands of people,” an Instagram user said.

“Unbelievable that they have this much influence and impact the entire community so negatively,” a Facebook user said.