"Long Term Gain/ Short Term Pain – submission to
Future Melbourne Committee – 12/8/2014 – Agenda Item 6.6 – QVM Precinct
Renewal.
When traders approached our Lord Mayor a few years
ago requesting that something be done about the state of business at QVM we
didn't quite expect that we would be launched into a full-on renewal.
We knew that some changes would be required. Global
retailing has gone through an upheaval. Major players have fallen by the
wayside. The category of public markets has suffered significant decline with
many long term markets seriously challenged. Adapting to the impact of a new
consumerism is proving very difficult. Just ask our major department stores.
The CoM saw a renewal as the way forward for QVM
and the financing of up to $250m is a very welcome ingredient. Traders
understand that key infrastructure like weather proofing our market and
creating enjoyable public areas don’t come from pocket money. We understand
that change will be needed if we are to get more people to our market. We
understand that the key to getting more people is to be relevant to today’s
consumers, and even better to become an irresistible magnet to locals and
visitors. We are confident that we all understand the renewal of a public
retail market has special ingredients that are quite different to mainstream
retailing. The long term gain to our market and its traders from a well
resourced renewal is enticing.
But there will be short term pain. Item 1 in the
major components of the Community Engagement is “Adaption and enhancement of
Upper Market Sheds A, B and C, to support market trading.” That translates to
an underground car park – a major construction undertaking, going down 3 or 4
floors with accompanying noise, dust, barriers, vehicles, and general
obstruction. And we won’t be able to escape that. Traders will be attempting to
conduct business nearby, maybe within 20 metres.
Did I say “short term pain”? Guesstimates on the
time necessary to achieve such a construction range from 1 to 4 years. Modest,
fragile businesses recovering from a GFC, in the middle of a period of new
consumerism, are not ready for, and may not survive, business interference of
this type. And our problem is that we haven’t gone into any detail about what a
temporary market next to a construction zone will involve. In a sense, this timing is all wrong. We should
have thrashed out an understanding of what a temporary market might be like
before you were asked to consider this proposal. All we can do at this stage is
wave a red flag and say there are major issues for us and we are ready, willing
and able to sit down and work through them in a collaborative way.
Greg Smith
QVMAC Representative
An audio version of the council meeting can be found here (the QVM proposal starts 1:42:20 into the meeting) - http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutCouncil/Meetings/CouncilMeetingAudio/FMC-meeting-12-August-2014-City-of-Melbourne.mp3