Sunday 15 November 2015

Munro Site Update - Trader Input Needed

The City of Melbourne is proposing planning changes to the QVM precinct with particular relevance to height restrictions on Therry St. and Queen St. QVMAC Trader Representatives have been invited to make submissions and we need input from traders.

We are in the early information phase of the process and a question & answer session will take place this Thursday 19th November at 3:30 pm. Before we attempt to summarise the issues let us say that there is a lot to take in here and you can find out more information at Participate Melbourne  and there is an excellent article on the Urban Melbourne website. (click on the respective links) 

Essentially the City wants to change height restrictions around the market to allow high rise
buildings with suitable street frontage heights and set-backs that provide the appropriate space for a market precinct. In the case of the proposed Therry St. high-rise on the Munro site there has been talk of a podium type construction where the street frontage would be kept to a minimum height with a suitable set back before the actual high-rise tower. (see top graphic)

If Therry St is to remain a dedicated retail area in tune with the market, what is an appropriate height for street frontage, and what impact will a high-rise have adjacent to the market? What other considerations will affect market business – light, wind, vehicle traffic, pedestrian amenity? 

The graphics shown above (thank you Urban Melbourne) gives one designer’s  concept that takes in light and wind considerations for the Munro site. What sorts of questions do you believe we need to ask on Thursday to give traders a better understanding of the impact of the amendments proposed around the market?