Wollongong City Council wants to clear the air, in light of hundreds of heated comments on social media recently over their Friday markets in the Crown Street Mall.
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Council spokeswoman Susan Wardle said one of the biggest misconceptions about the change of market operators was being “sold off to the highest bidder”.
“We’d like to refute that strongly,” Ms Wardle said.
She said it wasn’t a “sudden” decision and council had been discussing potential changes with the former operators, Jenny Briscoe-Hough and Lara Seresin, for several years before a public quotation process.
“We got some consultants to come in and give us some independent feedback,” Ms Wardle said.
“They looked at the Friday market, the Flagstaff Hill Twilight Market and the Thursday [Eat Street Market] and they came back with a whole range of suggestions about the management … curation and focus.”
You’ve still got an event ... that makes a lot of people happy
- Susan Wardle
Ms Wardle said they also wanted to include a higher content of Illawarra and South Coast producers and more start-up businesses, which will result in subtle changes to the markets over the next few months.
Another issue that needed to be addressed was the financial impact the markets had on the upkeep of the mall including paver cleaning and power usage.
Four operators put forward submissions to run the Friday Produce and Creative Markets, with each being marked on how well they could meet eight different criteria.*
“The focus is on things like experience, what the offer is, local content, so over time there will be a slight shift in the Friday market,” Ms Wardle said.
“In saying that, a lot of the favourite [stallholders] will stay.”
Kirrily Sinclair, the businesswoman behind the Foragers brand, won the bid and will begin running the markets from October 7 on a two-year contract.
While the Rotary Club of Corrimal will for the next 12 months run the Twilight Markets.
Ms Wardle said markets ultimately build a sense of community.
“The point is I think council’s focus is more about the offer to the community than it is about financial gain,” she said.
“In the case of the mall, there’s some costs which are trying to be balanced differently and that’s why [they’ve] gone out with a commercial offer.
“At the end of the day you’ve still got an event or activity that makes a lot of people happy.”
*The submissions were assessed by a panel against weighted criteria that included:
Experience of the market management team (20%)
Concept, vision and product offer (20%)
Creating a vibrant market for the community (15%)
Showcasing Wollongong and the South Coast (15%)
Aesthetic look and feel of the market (10%)
Marketing and promotional strategies (10%)
Management policies and procedures (10%)
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said it was “wonderful” to see the community so passionate about the markets, but “base payment” was not a determining factor.
“We took the opportunity to build in criteria to ensure the composition of stallholders delivers a mix that supports local and start-up businesses, provides diverse and new offerings for visitors and, crucially, does not take away from the offering provided by our existing retailers,” he said.
It comes after 1700 people signed a Change.org petition calling for council to reverse their decision.