Last night, Merri-bek city councillors voted to defer the proposal that the Sydney Road Street Festival and Coburg Night Market be cut down to every two years.
Last night, Merri-bek city councillors voted to defer the proposal that the Sydney Road Street Festival and Coburg Night Market be cut down from every year to every two years.
As part of the city’s Festival Programs Refresh, a proposal was made to significantly reduce the two events and instead use the funding to create a new, two-week festival in the north of the region that would also absorb the Fawkner Festa and Glenroy Festival.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
View this post on Instagram
After much public outcry surrounding the potential changes to the annual Sydney Road Street Party, both through online petitions and in person during the meeting, Cr Sue Bolton moved to amend the proposal to keep the Street Party at it is, while still cutting down the Coburg Night Market.
Cr Adam Pulford seconded the motion. “There’s a clear, overwhelming call from our community saying ‘Let’s keep this an annual event, it’s so important to us,'” he said.
“I know lots of people do love the Coburg Night Market. For me, I’m happy to see that shift to every two years because it’s a newer event. Sydney Road Street Party has such a deep history in our community now. It’s nearly been running as long as I’ve been alive.”
Mayor Cr Nat Abboud, who represents the district that’s home to the Coburg Night Markets, suggested an eight-month deferral instead, stating an unwillingness to limit one of Coburg’s biggest cultural events and fears the decision would become highly politicised ahead of the upcoming state elections.
“I can’t support a motion that prioritises the south and the north of the city and completely wipes out the central part of the city,” she said.
In the end, the councillors agreed that more time as well as further public consultation was needed to determine the best path forward for the city, so they settled on a four-month deferral.
“I’d really love to see a way that we could make, if possible, find a way to make all of these festivals work and add in a festival in Pasco Vale, but I feel like making that up on the fly right now is probably not the best way to do that,” stated Cr Katerine Theodosis.
The proposal will now be re-evaluated in September.
To watch the Merri-bek Council meeting, head here.
