Lord Mayor Sally Capp confirms Queen Victoria Market budget to be revised

City of Melbourne councillors have approved nearly $40 million of works for the stalled Queen Victoria Market redevelopment. But some traders are still unhappy with the plans.

The business plan and budget for the $250 million Queen Victoria Market redevelopment will be revised amid division among City of Melbourne councillors over the project’s future.

Some councillors believe the budget should be reduced because the current plan has been significantly scaled back from the original blueprint proposed when Robert Doyle was still lord mayor.

A big factor was last year’s decision by Heritage Victoria to reject major works involving dismantling of market sheds while trader facilities and parking spots were built underneath.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp is talking up the Queen Victoria Market revamp. Picture- Nicole Cleary

Lord Mayor Sally Capp told a council meeting this week that action was needed because plans had changed.

“There will be an updated business case to reflect the fact that what we are delivering is still appropriate and relevant, but needs to have quite a different budget attached to it,” she said.

People City portfolio chair Cr Beverley Pinder said the budget might need to be cut because it was unlikely that a proposed new building for Queen St would go ahead.

“Does it still stack up...this now looks like a very different project from when it first began,” she said.

Cr Pinder and Knowledge City chair Cr Jackie Watts expressed concern about how operational changes at the market and relocated parking would affect traders and customers.

“How do we get further acceptance and binding together so that it’s not embarrassing for me to say to friends, ‘no, we are on track, everyone’s in agreement,’” said Cr Pinder.

QVM chief executive Stan Liacos with traders at the revamped String Bean Alley.

Fruit and vegetable trader Rosa Ansaldo, whose family has run stalls for 35 years, criticised plans to convert the main carpark into a plaza, and to limit the use of forklifts by traders.

“The whole atmosphere of the market is walking across between cars, seeing forklifts, seeing a little bit of dirt, seeing people cleaning, seeing people spruiking” she said.

“We are killing the market with sterilisation.”

Cr Capp said she understood traders’ emotions, and consultation would continue.

“We don’t want to see anyone unhappy, we would love to see everyone absolutely jubilant,” she said.

“It’s about...making sure that we have that balance between today and the future, between our current traders and new traders, between customers and community.”

Market chief executive Stan Liacos said it was difficult to know exactly the level of support for the project among the market’s 750 traders.

“I believe the vast majority are highly supportive,” he said.

The council meeting approved $38.9 million of works involving shed upgrades and trader storage areas.

The latest redevelopment plan for Queen Victoria Market.

ANGER OVER ROAD CLOSURES

A City of Melbourne plan to close roads for its Queen Victoria Market redevelopment has been criticised.

The council is moving to discontinue parts of Franklin and Queen streets to free up land for the so-called southern development site.

The state government transferred the Crown land to the council to support renewal of the market precinct.

It will feature a mixed high-rise development including apartments, shops, offices, community facilities and up to 500 market car parks on freehold land.

But local resident David Legge said it was highly unusual to close off a public road and sell it as a development site.

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“Who is really getting a benefit from all of this development? I can’t see any real change to the market from the plans that are available now,” he said.

“Surely these market works could have been done without allowing hundreds of millions of dollars of property development that has no relationship to the market.”

A council spokeswoman said realigning and improving Franklin and Queen streets would better link the market to the city, with the historic Franklin St stores to be retained.

A further 500 car spots are due to be created at the council’s Munro site on Therry St.

Consultation on the proposed road discontinuance will start today, September 19.

Submissions received by Thursday October 17 will be considered by the council.

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