Redcliffe Jetty Markets could double in size under new plans
ONE of the most popular weekend markets north of Brisbane could double in size under bold new plans.
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SHOP owners desperate to cash in on the success of the Redcliffe Jetty Markets have had their prayers answered.
Markets and Events Management Australia (MEMA) will almost double the size of the esplanade’s Sunday market from Baker St to the Anzac Ave roundabout.
It is one of the plans for the next 12 to 18 months to turn the Redcliffe Markets into a major destination in southeast Queensland.
MEMA director Matthew Harris said new features would include a food van area, children’s entertainment, a display space for car shows and an area for cooking and lifestyle shows.
“We want to grow the market and grow the identity of the region; increase business and tourism; and show off our brand and the foreshore as a whole,” Mr Harris said.
“We want to encourage locals to visit these shopfronts when the markets aren’t on.”
“We’re not going to saturate what we have,” Mr Harris said. “We could easily fill it with 200 stalls. We want to grow organically. You won’t see 100 new stalls pop up instantly.”
More than 350,000 tourists visited the Redcliffe Jetty Markets in 2017 and there will be a taste of the expanded markets on Good Friday when the Queen’s Baton Relay comes to Redcliffe, before its official expansion date of April 8.
Redcliffe Peninsula Chamber of Commerce president Ryan Elson said: “We felt that business (south of) Baker St could be enhanced by what the market brings to the area every Sunday and we wanted them to be involved.”
Redcliffe City Chamber of Commerce president Nick Tzimas backed the changes but wanted to see how it would affect the community.
“We feel it’s worth a try for a few months, then to revisit to see what small business feels and what the community feels — the two go hand-in-hand,” he said.
Moreton Bay Regional Council approved the changes last Tuesday.
“As part of council’s Redcliffe Foreshore Master Plan adopted last year, residents and visitors overwhelmingly told us they wanted to see more pop-up stalls and markets,” Mayor Allan Sutherland said.
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