QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PRECINCT RENEWAL MASTER

KEY FINDINGS FROMCOMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTPARKINGHeritageOPENING HOURSThe provision of convenient parkingand safe, easy access to the marketis a priority for both traders andcustomers. Access to nearby parkingis especially important to traders whomust arrive before the commencementof public transport services. The City ofMelbourne and Queen Victoria Marketmanagement will continue to supportthe needs of early morning traders intothe future.The site has been, and continues tobe, significant to many people for manyreasons. It is an important Aboriginalcultural place, the site of Melbourne’s firstcemetery, and has served as the city’smain wholesale food market. It has layersof Victorian, Edwardian and inter-warmercantile architecture, yet not all of thesite’s history is visible. In addition to theconservation of heritage buildings, wewill celebrate the site’s hidden historythrough other means such as artworks,signage and landscape features.Current trading hours at the market areconfusing and inconvenient for manyshoppers and tourists. Public and traderfeedback has indicated strong supportfor extended opening hours, with partsof the market offering services sevendays a week from early morning to lateat night. Increasingly, this will meanmany spaces in the market havingmultiple uses across a day and across aweek. It does not mean all traders will beworking longer hours. Potential benefitsinclude more efficient use of space andfacilities at the market, better supportfor tourism, attraction of new customers,and greater customer convenience.A car park to replace the existing 720 spaceopen-air parking on the market site willbe developed to provide accessible,affordable, safe, family-friendly, shortterm parking within the precinct. Thepreferred location for this is at the CornerQueen and Therry streets, althoughother options are available includingthe new southern development site inQuarter Three. Arrangements to managenew parking facilities will be developedwith input from traders and other users.These will seek to optimise the use ofcustomer parking at different times,accommodating traders at the start andclose of each day and allowing for useby others when the market is not trading.Arrangements will be resolved in the nextphase of detailed planning.Most importantly, this Master Planaims to preserve the authentic marketexperience. Queen Victoria Markethas served the people of Melbournecontinuously since the 1870s – givingit an irreplaceable connection with ourpast. In the market’s next evolution weare committed to preserving its diverseheritage. As a mark of that commitment,the City of Melbourne has nominatedQueen Victoria Market for inclusionon the Australian National HeritageList. This recognition would not onlyacknowledge the heritage value ofthe market at a national level, it is aprerequisite for nomination to the WorldHeritage List.Many traders’ vehicles are now presentwithin the market sheds during tradinghours due to the lack of facilities fordelivery and loading of goods andproduce. New infrastructure willeliminate this necessity.Other existing practices including longterm parking by general merchandiseand fruit and vegetable traders within themarket sheds, and the parking of truckswithin customer parking areas, will bephased out, in order to remove conflictsbetween public and service activities.PUBLIC SPACESSome people come to the Queen VictoriaMarket only to shop, but for many others,visiting the market involves a break for acasual lunch in the sunshine, or meetingup with friends. Events such as the NightMarket are significant attractions in theirown right. High quality, useful open spaceis also increasingly important to meetthe needs of the growing residentialpopulation around the market.Improving public spaces in the precinctis therefore a high priority in orderto fulfil several aims. These includesupporting programmed events that bringpeople to the market; making pleasantspaces to meet and relax with moregreenery, shade and seating; providingopportunities for informal recreation suchas tai chi, yoga, and children’s play andproviding more generously for walking,cycling and pedestrian activities in streetsaround the market.Our intention is to relocate car parkingin order to create the new open space,and at least the current number ofspaces from within that area will beaccommodated elsewhere in theprecinct. Allowances will be investigatedfor the replacement of parking spacesthat are potentially affected byimprovements in other areas.Refer also Capire Consulting Group, Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal:Phase 3 Community Engagement Report, for City of Melbourne, April 2015.QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PRECINCT RENEWAL MASTER PLAN7

QUEEN VICTORIAMARKET as part ofMelbourne’s futureREDEVELOPMENT SITES SUSTAINABILITYIn October 2014, the City of Melbourneannounced the purchase of propertieswithin the block bounded by Therry,Queen, and Franklin streets, commonlyknown as the Munro site, for 76million. This in combination with thesouthern site negotiated with the StateGovernment form a strategic set of landholdings that are of importance to thepeople of Melbourne and the futureof the Queen Victoria Market Precinct.The City of Melbourne is confident thatthe long term value of these two siteswill include civic, retail and communitybenefits alongside a sound financialplatform for reinvestment in themarket precinct.These arrangements have openedup new possibilities to better integrate,through the Queen Victoria MarketRenewal process, the market with theexpanding northern city through thereconfiguration of parking, optimisationof retail and community facilities. Theyalso create opportunities to minimiseimpacts on the market’s operationduring the staged implementationof improvements.The City of Melbourne is committedto becoming one of the world’smost sustainable cities. We knowthat a successful future depends onunderstanding the risks that climatechange poses, reducing our impactand becoming more resilient.Projections for Melbourne are fora hotter and drier climate with morefrequent and extreme weather events.This is particularly significant for QueenVictoria Market because of the potentialvulnerability of its supply chain, as wellas impacts to the open-air market andpublic open spaces.Through the implementation of thisMaster Plan we will incorporaterenewable energy, waste reductionand recycling, and water use andre-use including stormwater harvesting.We are also considering the role that theprecinct can play in building Melbourne’sresilience. It has the opportunity to leadchange in the community and help thecity tackle its sustainability challenges.The Munro family’s legacy will berecognised as part of the renewal.The two sites’ redevelopment, combinedwith a renewed business model for themarket, will ensure the market’s futureas a much loved authentic tradingenvironment.8QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PRECINCT RENEWAL MASTER PLANRelocation of thewholesale marketQueen Victoria Market is intricatelyconnected with wider trading networks.The new metropolitan WholesaleMarket at Epping is expected to openin 2015. The relocation of wholesalingfrom Footscray to larger premises atEpping offers the potential to increasebulk supply to local businesses. Italso represents a significant changefor Queen Victoria Market’s fruit andvegetable traders, who rely on thewholesale market for the majorityof their produce supply.The full extent of impacts is notyet known but may affect: Future sourcing of produce Storage requirements, includingthe need for refrigeration Arrangements for the deliveryof fresh produce Waste disposal requirements.

REVIEW OFDEVELOPMENTCONTROLSA growing cityQueen Victoria Market is positionedat the heart of Melbourne’s inner north,which has been identified as a growtharea for the municipality. Council’scommitment to renew the precinct istimed to respond to this growth. In 2014,our central city grew faster than anyother area in Australia. Between 2008and 2013 the municipality’s residentialpopulation increased by almost30 per cent to about 116,447 people.Planning for the market needs to takeinto account the opportunities presentedby Melbourne’s growing population ofresidents, workers, students and visitors.This increased population will createnew opportunities and challenges forthe market, while also increasing theimportance of its open spaces.Council’s City North Structure Plan2012, which includes the QueenVictoria Market Precinct, identifies thenorthern sector of the city as a strategicrenewal area that will accommodatemore residents and support additionalemployment through continuedintensive redevelopment. Over the past15 years, the City North area has alreadyseen extensive residential apartmentdevelopment, both planned andcompleted, including: 3,123 completed apartments 2,744 under construction 2,266 with planning permit approvedThe relationship between the QueenVictoria Market Precinct and thesurrounding city have changed overtime. What was once a transitional zonebetween the central city and low-intensitysuburbs is now an integral part of thecentral city and emerging City Northgrowth area. Existing controls over thebuilt form of new development in theprecinct have become dated. The Cityof Melbourne therefore commenceda process of reviewing and updatingplanning controls over the precinct,including a formal Planning SchemeAmendment process, to better supportthe precinct’s changing role. 3,417 in current planning permitapplications.Of these new households, if each paidone visit per week to Queen VictoriaMarket this would result in over 600,000additional visitations per year. QueenVictoria Market is central to this area ofintensive development and remains avital link between the older central cityand its northward expansion.QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PRECINCT RENEWAL MASTER PLAN9

The Marketwe love shopping with favourite fresh produce traders a unique indoor/ outdoor settingfor night markets opportunitiesto interpret theformer cemetery favourite Melbournerituals convenient access on foot,by tram and by car 10QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PRECINCT RENEWAL MASTER PLAN

a touch of chaos and an authentic market atmosphere an eclectic mixof specialty shops a place to linger a diverse mix of meat,fish and deli vendors pedestrian-friendly streetsand open spaces “Authenticity andatmosphere that isuniquely Melbourne”QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PRECINCT RENEWAL MASTER PLAN11

As we plan for the future of this precinct, we are committed topreserving the core values that have made Queen Victoria Marketa favourite with locals and tourists alike. Queen Victoria Market

Jul 28, 2015 · Market Precinct Renewal Master Plan to ensure this happens in consultation with the community, market visitors and traders. Central to our thinking is the recognition that prosperous traders are essential to a successful market. Two milestones have helped shape this Master Plan, open