This is a blog series where we share the community submissions sent to the Minister for Planning regarding the draft Preston Market Precinct Development Plan. We’re sharing these to give our communities voices a platform, and inspire others with stories about the market.
Submission 005:
I have lived in Northcote for 30 years. During that time, Preston Market has been where I have done my weekly shopping. I am writing to express my concerns about the draft Preston Market Precinct Development Plan and its potential impact on the market’s identity, accessibility, community role and long-term future.
Preston Market has been an important part of my life for more than 30 years. It is not simply a place where I buy food. It is a cultural hub, a weekly ritual and a place where I feel connected to my community.
I have been going to many of the same traders for over 30 years. With four young children, the market provided essential access to high-quality, fresh food at affordable prices. I could feed my family healthy food by buying from people I knew and trusted. This was important for our family’s financial wellbeing and health.
The market also provides something that is difficult to find in larger, more anonymous retail environments. It is a place where people recognise you, where relationships develop and where shopping is a social experience. Visiting the market fills my basket with fresh food and flowers, but it also brings a sense of connection and joy. That atmosphere and community character should be protected.
I am particularly concerned that the proposed towers and the scale of the redevelopment could hide the market and make it less visible and less central. Preston Market should be easy to see, easy to identify and clearly understood as a thriving market and the heart of the precinct. It should not feel like a secondary feature surrounded by large buildings and other commercial uses.
A highly visible and welcoming market entrance is essential. The design should draw people towards the market and make it obvious that they have arrived at a public, community-oriented place. The market should remain the central heart of the precinct, rather than being obscured or fragmented by the surrounding development.
I believe the entire existing footprint of Preston Market should be retained. This includes all of the fresh fruit and vegetable sheds, food areas, specialty traders and other parts of the market precinct that contribute to its character and functioning.
Retaining only selected sections would risk creating a market that is smaller, more fragmented and less vibrant. The full footprint is important to ensure that the market continues to have the variety, capacity, atmosphere and sense of place that people value. The different parts of the market work together to create its identity, and they should not be considered separately from one another.
Any redevelopment should work around the market and strengthen it, rather than demolishing parts of it and attempting to recreate its identity elsewhere. The market must be retained as a complete and functioning precinct, not merely preserved in name.
I am also concerned about the flow of people through the precinct and the quality of the open spaces. Open, visible and well-designed public spaces can make an area feel safer, reduce opportunities for antisocial behaviour and encourage people to gather and connect.
If substantial numbers of new residents are going to live in the precinct, there must be enough genuinely usable public space for people to meet, sit, move through and participate in community life. These spaces should be visible from surrounding areas, well connected to the market and designed to feel welcoming at different times of day.
More housing is needed and I support the provision of additional housing. However, new development should be designed in a way that strengthens community life rather than placing greater pressure on the market and surrounding public spaces. New residents should be welcomed into a precinct that has generous, safe and accessible places for social interaction—not simply more buildings and retail activity.
I am concerned that the demolition of significant parts of the existing market could cause permanent damage to its character. Retaining traders or market functions in some form would not necessarily preserve the market’s identity if the familiar spaces, atmosphere, connections and sense of place are lost.
The market needs to survive not only physically, but also socially and culturally. The proposed Market Continuity Plan should clearly demonstrate how existing traders and customers will be supported, how affordability and access will be protected, and how the market’s social and cultural character will be retained throughout construction and after the redevelopment is completed.
It is not enough to maintain a market in name only. Preston Market should remain a lively, accessible and recognisable community destination with the full range and character that people currently value.
I do not believe that a two-week consultation period is adequate for a proposal of this scale and importance. Preston Market has served the community for generations, and the people who use it should have a meaningful opportunity to understand the proposal, consider its impacts and provide informed feedback.
The community should also have opportunities to respond to any significant changes made to the plan in the future. Once a decision has been made, the community should not be excluded from further discussion about how the market is designed, protected and managed throughout the redevelopment process.
A project with such long-term consequences requires transparent, ongoing consultation with market users, traders, local residents and the wider community.
The market should be a prominent and clearly identifiable feature of the precinct. I am concerned that towers of the proposed scale could overshadow the market, reduce its visibility and make it harder for people to understand where the market begins and ends.
The design should prioritise a strong, visible and central market presence, with clear entrances and inviting connections from surrounding streets and public transport. The entire market footprint, including the fresh fruit sheds and other existing market areas, should be retained so that its heritage, variety and cultural identity are protected.
The additional housing and retail activity will increase the number of people using the precinct. This makes it especially important that there is sufficient open space that is genuinely usable, visible and welcoming.
Open space should include places for people to sit, gather, meet and connect, as well as safe and clear pedestrian routes. Spaces that are hidden, narrow, poorly connected or dominated by surrounding towers will not provide the same community benefit.
I am concerned about whether the proposed level of density and the eight towers, ranging from 8 to 16 storeys, are appropriate around a market that is intended to remain the community heart of Preston.
The scale of the development should not overwhelm the market or make it feel enclosed. The height and placement of buildings should be reconsidered to ensure that the market remains visible, accessible and connected to the surrounding community.
The proposed development should demonstrate how the complete market can continue operating during construction and how all existing market areas and traders will be protected. The continuity plan should address not only the physical operation of the market, but also the affordability, accessibility, social connections and atmosphere that make it valuable to the community.
I believe public acquisition is the best way to ensure that Preston Market remains in community hands and is managed in the long-term interests of the community. Public ownership would provide greater certainty that decisions about the market are guided by its social, cultural and public value—not primarily by commercial objectives.
I support the provision of more housing, but I do not support a redevelopment approach that places the market’s identity, visibility and community value at risk.
The current proposal should be rejected or substantially revised. Any future plan should:
retain the entire existing footprint of Preston Market, including all fresh fruit and vegetable sheds, food areas, specialty traders and other market spaces;
preserve the market as the clearly visible and central heart of the precinct;
protect its cultural character, existing trader relationships and community atmosphere;
provide prominent, welcoming and accessible entrances;
include generous, safe and genuinely usable public open spaces;
ensure that new housing contributes to community life rather than overwhelming the market;
carefully reconsider the proposed towers density and relationship to the market;
ensure that new development does not hide, fragment or restrict the flow of people through the market;
provide meaningful, ongoing consultation throughout the planning and construction process; and
place the market in public ownership through public acquisition.
Public acquisition is the only way to provide the certainty that the entire Preston Market footprint, including its fresh food sheds and other market areas, will remain focused on community needs and be protected for future generations.
The market is a vital social, cultural and economic asset. It should be preserved as a complete, thriving, visible and welcoming community heart for Preston, Northcote and the wider northern suburbs.
Yours sincerely.
