A proposed fresh food market in Melbourne’s booming outer north similar in size to the Preston and Dandenong markets has been knocked back despite local council approval.
The open air market, which would have comprised 177 stalls and an outdoor food court in Oaklands Junction, near Craigieburn, was approved by Hume City Council but rejected this month by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which said its size was unacceptable.
A former equestrian centre is proposed as the site for a market in Melbourne’s north.Credit:Justin McManus.
The development has drawn comparisons with other permanent markets, including Preston Market, which has about 120 traders, and Dandenong, with more than 200.
As with those markets, the retail centre would have included stalls selling meat, seafood, and fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as deli products.
The plans for the rural property on Oaklands Road, a few kilometres from the Melbourne Airport viewing area, also included a nursery and 669 car park spaces.
People living in the Hume and Sunbury growth corridors have poor access to permanent markets selling fresh produce, according to an economic analysis filed by the developers in VCAT.
The closest was in Preston, about40 minutes away, the analysis written by consultant Matthew Lee said.
“This is the ‘gap in the market’ that the proposed development at Oaklands Junction is seeking to fill,” Lee wrote.
Renders for a proposed market in Oaklands Junction.
Asian, European and Middle Eastern migrant communities who regularly shopped at markets were driving a population boom in Melbourne’s north-west, the economic assessment argued.
“There is a significant gap in the geographic distribution of permanent markets and a lack of provision in northern and north-western Melbourne,” the economic analysis said.
“When coupled with the demographic characteristics of residents, this demonstrates evidence of a community need for the establishment of a new market to serve these residents.”
Hume City Council received six objections to the proposal, but granted a planning application for the market because it would provide a net benefit to the community.
The benefits cited by council included access to fresh produce and the creation of a valuable tourism and economic opportunity.
However, VCAT subsequently overturned the planning decision, stating that the development was an “unacceptable size and scale” and inconsistent with its location in a green wedge zone.
Renders for a proposed market in Oaklands Junction.
The developers had argued that the Hume green wedge was mostly intended to preserve the curfew-free status of the flight path of the nearby Melbourne Airport.
VCAT senior member Laurie Hewet and member Katherine Paterson disagreed, finding that the green wedge also protected the rural equestrian properties in the area.
While they accepted the economic benefit of a new market in Melbourne’s north, the VCAT members said in their reasons that it would not outweigh the impacts on nearby residents.
Stalls at the Preston Market.Credit:Wayne Taylor
“A market of this scale will inevitably bring a significant amount of people to the area,” they wrote.
“Activity levels on the site will generate a range of amenity impacts which in another location, may be acceptable. In this locality, however, impacts including noise, traffic movements and disturbance caused by generally high activity levels, are not acceptable.”
Planning consultant Kim Belfield, who handled the application for the developers, said the economic assessment determined there was a pent-up demand for a large-scale fresh food market in the area.
Horses on a neighbouring property in Oaklands Junction.Credit:Justin McManus
“Unfortunately, as being demonstrated in Preston, land for a traditional open market is often seen as too valuable, so it is nearly impossible to establish a similar one in the northern suburbs,” he said.
Belfield said the developers would look to file a future application that made the proposal more of a tourist attraction, rather than a regular food market, to meet the land uses allowed in a green wedge zone.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article