“Leave our market alone” is a phrase often used against our
market owners and managers but I am a trader who wants to use it against the
meddlers and do-gooders who don’t really understand the need for change at QVM.
Yesterdays Herald Sun reported on plans to renew the Queen
Victoria Market and the online comments from individuals at the end of the article were
dominated by themes like “Leave our market alone, “Don’t change what’s not
broken”, or “Tell the experts to stay out of our market”. How do traders tell
these people that we don’t want the market left alone, our market is broken,
and we do want resources and expert advice so we can do something about it.
One of the biggest complaints you will hear from traders is
that the market has been neglected for at least the last 20 years. Virtually no
resources have been put back into the market other than to maintain the status
quo. In the meantime the GFC and a subsequent retail revolution have taken
their toll. Trader takings have dwindled, traders have left, we have big gaps
in some of our aisles (A Shed) and, for many, the future is not looking very
bright. Retail decline is not the fault of the owners or managers, but market neglect certainly hasn't helped.
Fortunately the City of Melbourne has seen the error in its
ways and plans to spend up to $250m making us better. They also want to grant us World Heritage
status. So why do meddlers and do-gooders object? Let’s examine a few possibilities. One
is that they are meddlers who like nothing better than to complain, particularly
if it is a chance to have a go at city hall. Secondly they are traditionalists
who want to come back to the same market, in the same way, and under the same
conditions as they have for years. If all our customers were like that we would
not have a problem. Unfortunately many of our customers have moved on to
alternatives. They have gone to more convenient local shops or online
and we need to encourage them back or find replacements. I would like to think
that the biggest group simply want to support our traders and feel that preventing
change will help and, let's face it, some of those changes may be unpalatable in the short term. Bless them for their concern, but unfortunately doing nothing is not
the answer for QVM.
Traders don’t want drastic change. We don’t want wholesale
changes to heritage buildings. We don’t want changes that make us look
like another shopping centre. We don’t want anything that will work against that
essential core ingredient of our market – the ingredient that makes us great –
the multitude of small independent businesses. And those businesses will need special care particularly during any construction works. But we do need better
facilities. We do need ways to make it easier for our customers to shop. We do
need leadership in areas of store and stall presentation, trading hours, and
the use of technology. We do need resources to help us become the best we can be.
We want to retain the authentic nature of the market and respect
its heritage. Fortunately they are the exact words that Professor Rob Adams,
the council’s city design expert, used in his presentation to a planning panel
yesterday here in Melbourne. No trader is going to give QVM or the CoM the freedom to do what they want at our market without our input. But until
potential options are revealed (that is expected to start next month) we are
all just guessing.
It is not unreasonable for traders to respect the abilities
of city designers who have made Melbourne the world’s most liveable city. We
can wait eagerly for their options to renew our market and we will critically review
each of those as key stakeholders at QVM. In the meantime it would be preferable
for the do-gooders to stay out of the arguments and just keep on shopping at
the market. That is all the support we need from them right now.
By Greg Smith