City of Melbourne calls for second $100m inner city recovery fund

Life is returning to Melbourne’s CBD, but city authorities say another $100m fund is needed to boost businesses and activity.

Melbourne City Council is pushing for another $100 million fund to boost inner city recovery as new data show that more than 90 per cent of Victorian employees are still working from home at least two days a week.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the council would pitch in $50 million, while another $50 million would be sought from the state government.

“The (previous $100 million) Melbourne City Recovery Fund and our partnership with the state government has been fundamental to the survival and recovery of businesses in our city,” she said.

“It has helped pay for city cleaning, new infrastructure such as the bicycle lanes...and importantly events and cultural activations that have enticed people back out of their homes and into the city,” she told a Property Council event on Tuesday.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp is calling for another $100m city recovery fund. Picture: David Caird

Ms Capp said the central city was bouncing back with pedestrian activity on Saturday at 87 per cent of normal foot traffic.

But the pedestrian count on Tuesday was only 60 per cent, meaning “there is still much work ahead”.

New figures show that more than 90 per cent of Victorian employees are still working from home for at least two days a week.

And of those who switched to working from home during the pandemic, more than half are spending at least four days a week away from the office.

The research commissioned by Tourism and Transport Forum is a worry as efforts continue to revitalise Melbourne’s CBD after the severe pandemic shutdowns.

The CBD during the 2020 pandemic shutdown. Picture: Alex Coppel

TTF CEO Margy Osmond said that with the end of JobKeeper, more must be done to support tourism-reliant industries “by breathing life back into the Melbourne CBD”.

“Now is the time to get workers back into mighty Melbourne, to support the city’s businesses, especially those heavily reliant on international visitors and the corporate travel market,” she said.

“We need to draw a line in the sand and find a way to address increased private vehicle usage generated by the pandemic.”

“We need to encourage people to return to work using the public transport options they frequented before the pandemic.”

Next month, the Property Council is launching its FOMO Fridays campaign aimed at enticing more people to spend time and money in the city.

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