Feature Image: Render of QVM Southern Precinct Towers. Source: City of Melbourne

The Federal Government has conditionally approved the Queen Victoria Market Southern Precinct Development “Controlled Action.” The National Trust has long been calling for a better design of three high-rise towers behind the Franklin Street Stores which will have significant impact on the National Heritage Values of this important Melbourne landmark.

The conditions of approval have thankfully mitigated some of the worst damage the tower designs might have caused, but the resulting construction represents a missed opportunity to demonstrate strong heritage considered housing design for one of Australia’s most significant cultural sites. 

The Queen Victoria Market has operated continuously since the 1870s and is recognised as one of the great nineteenth century markets of Victoria. It holds the distinction of being the only Melbourne market to survive from the group of important central markets built by the City of Melbourne Corporation, earning its place on the National Heritage List in 2017. 

What Has Happened?

After assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, the Federal Government has approved a development that we believe will impact the Queen Victoria Market’s National Heritage Values in ways that could have been better addressed through alternative design approaches. 

The development includes Towers 1, 2 and 3 behind the Franklin Street Stores, plus the Queen Victoria Market Cultural Building. While we understand the economic imperatives driving this project, and the need for more housing in the state, we believe the current designs present challenges for the heritage values that make this market nationally significant. 

Our December 2024 submission to Lendlease’s Draft Public Environment Report outlined detailed concerns about the heritage impacts. We identified how the proposed towers would: 

• Alter the market’s distinctive low-scale character through their height and bulk 

• Impact significant sight lines and views within the heritage site 

• Require modifications to heritage fabric through canopy adjustments 

• Change the “open setting” that characterises the market’s heritage values

The conditions of the approved development have mitigated some of the negative impacts the development will have on the heritage values of the QVM. The approval requires further set back of the tower overhangs and will require re-instatement of the Franklin Street Store canopies.

Image: QVM Southern Precinct artist render. Source: Lendlease

What Should Have Happened?

It is a shame that Federal Government has had to step in to mitigate the potential damage to the National Heritage Values of the Queen Victoria Market. The National Trust has repeatedly called for well-designed development that respects heritage values from the outset of the design process. We continue to support elements of the QVM Precinct Renewal Program, including the creation of Market Square and the adaptive reuse of the Franklin Street Stores, which demonstrate how development can enhance heritage sites when carefully planned. 

Our concern is not with development itself in proximity to the QVM, but with ensuring that development designs for National Heritage places fully consider and respond to their significant heritage context. We believe there are design solutions that could achieve both development objectives and stronger heritage outcomes – what we call TIMBY (Thoughtfully In My Backyard). 

Rather than viewing heritage as a barrier to housing, the National Trust is championing projects that demonstrate how careful integration of heritage considerations can result in high-quality, context-sensitive housing outcomes that benefit both residents and the broader community.

The Queen Victoria Market’s significance extends beyond its buildings. It serves as an affordable and diverse retail market with small, independent businesses from many cultural backgrounds. For generations, it has been an important shopping, leisure and meeting place for Victorians and visitors to Melbourne. 

The market’s social significance is closely connected to its physical heritage. The complex of food halls, open sheds, shops, and stores maintains distinctive trading practices that provide continuity from the nineteenth century to today. Changes to the physical setting inevitably influence these social and cultural values. 

Why Did it Happen?

This decision raises broader questions about heritage protection processes. Federal heritage legislation exists to consider impacts that state processes cannot address, including effects of adjacent development on heritage settings and important views. The approach taken in this assessment will influence how similar situations are handled in future. 

Due to the nature of the QVM Renewal Program deal between the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Government, the proposed tower designs have been repeatedly presented as a fait accompli throughout the planning process, despite the negative heritage impacts. However, agreements between state and local government regarding the Renewal program, should hold no sway over the Commonwealth Government’s decision on whether these towers are a significant impact to the National Heritage values of the site.  

What Now?

We believe there were opportunities in this process to explore design alternatives that could better balance development needs with heritage protection objectives. 

While disappointed by this outcome, we remain committed to working constructively with all parties to achieve the best possible heritage outcomes as the project proceeds. This case highlights the importance of early engagement in development processes and the value of design approaches that see heritage as an asset to be enhanced rather than a constraint to be managed. 

The Queen Victoria Market, with its 150 years of continuous operation, represents an important part of Melbourne’s story. We believe it deserves development approaches that celebrate and strengthen its heritage values while meeting contemporary needs.