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 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. “This is the ‘gap in the market’ that the proposed development at Oaklands Junction is seeking to fill,” Lee wrote.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.
The benefits cited by council included access to fresh produce and the creation of a valuable tourism and economic opportunity. 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.“A market of this scale will inevitably bring a significant amount of people to the area,” they wrote.