By Chancy Quan
As a community petition gains momentum, pressure is mounting on Maribyrnong Council to deliver more green space in Footscray.
The petition, with over 700 signatures, calls for the former Little Saigon Market site to be turned into green space. On April 15, the council officially carried the motion for further consideration.
Located at 63-67 Nicholson Street, the 5,000-square-metre site was once a thriving market before it was gutted by fire in 2016 and has remained derelict ever since.
Petition organiser Thomas Foreman says green space in Footscray hasn’t kept pace with development and population density.
“Our largest municipal space is Footscray Park, and even that isn’t enough to meet the needs of a growing community,” he says.
As the fastest-growing precinct in the City of Maribyrnong, Footscray’s population is expected to surge 160 per cent, from 15,164 in 2013 to 39,520 by 2031. If green space remains unchanged, per capita green space will drop from 41 square metres to around 16 – well below the recommended standard of 30 square metres per person.
Urban greening expert Dr Thami Croeser, from RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research, says this per-person measure of green space could draw attention away from the actual resident accessibility.
“Your day-to-day life will still be mostly walking around on hot and ugly concrete streets if the big grassy park is three kilometres away,” Dr Croeser says. “But that park will make the number of green spaces per capita look good on paper.”
“Most Melbourne councils need to scale up their open space investment to provide more green spaces near to where people live and work,” he highlights.
Mr Foreman believes that developing green space at the former Little Saigon Market site would benefit the growing population, environment and local businesses in Footscray CBD.
“We’re facing serious urban heat issues in Footscray because it’s all concrete. Green spaces can help cool the city and support biodiversity,” he says.
“The site is near Footscray Market and opposite a high-rise car park and a small square,” Mr Foreman said. “A green space there would encourage families to linger longer and spend more at nearby businesses.”
However, not everyone supports the petition.
Leonie Bessant, who has lived in Footscray for 38 years, believes the site should be rebuilt as a market rather than turned into green space.
“It was the most hardcore Asian market in Melbourne, and it was basically my corner shop,” she says.
“Footscray has so many Vietnamese, Chinese and Indians, and many still remember that market. The buildings and shops around it, including that huge car park, were all developed for it. So the middle shouldn’t be turned into something else.”
Mrs Bessant thinks green space isn’t a pressing issue in Footscray and the Market site.
“We’re right next to the Maribyrnong River, which already provides a huge amount of open space. Maybe other places like West Footscray lack green space, but not here.”
Dr Croeser says the Little Saigon Market site could be a good target for green space, but it’s not the only opportunity.
“One of my favourite ideas is extending Railway Reserve over to Irving Street by decking over the railway trench,” he says. “It would massively expand the park and improve walkability across the suburb, reducing our reliance on bridges.”
City of Maribyrnong Mayor Cr Pradeep Tiwari points out that creating new open space to address historical underprovision in an area that is densely populated is challenging.
“Land is scarce, valuable, and sought after for a range of uses including housing, commercial and industrial development,” he says.
But Mr Foreman feels disappointed by what he sees as a lack of transparency from the council.
“We don’t know the current balance of the Developer Contribution Plan funds, how much has been allocated to open space, and what the council has achieved over the past five years,” he says.
Cr Tiwari says the council has made incremental gains in Footscray with the opening of Lilardia Park in 2024, and the recent transformation of an unsealed car park into open space at Saltriver Place.
Council is also planning improvements in Kingsville, West Footscray and Seddon – areas with less open space than Footscray.
