Bring on spring in Southbank

September is always a welcome time of the year in our business community.

The coldest of days and nights are usually behind us and the cafes, bars and restaurants can look forward to higher booking numbers, especially for outdoor dining.

International tourism is not back to where it was in 2019, and the continuing lower levels of office tower occupancy means that the lack of lunch trade and after-work drinks is still creating a drag on our micro-economy.

Residents should look out for some very good lunch deals to enjoy in the sun and, at the same time, know that you’re supporting a still struggling business community. It’s also a very nice time to get out on the river with our many cruise operators or self-hire boats.

The business association continues to prosecute the case at Town Hall for attention to ordinary cyclical maintenance, which seems to have dropped away since the pandemic years. Simple things like cracked and uneven pavers make our once sparkling public areas look very second-rate these days.

The council is moving glacially on the question of Queensbridge Square, and particularly the disgraceful condition of the red stairs. 

We now need to go through the process of an Australia-wide competition, an assessment process, council endorsement of the winner, and finally a funding allocation in the capital works program. This all adds up to nothing happening in the Square until probably 2026-27. 

The money and time to be invested in such a process will be far in excess of what a straightforward modification or removal of the steps would have cost. It’s annoying that our council needs to be dragged along to address fairly simple maintenance issues in what is Melbourne’s tourism hub.

On a more positive note, have you seen the success of the council’s trial of floating wetlands in the river? The rate of growth of the vegetation is amazing, and its attraction for waterbirds is really heartening. The floating islands concept is to trial what type of vegetation grows best in our waters, so that the council can choose correctly when addressing the softening of the riverbank during the Greenline roll-out.

Speaking of Greenline, the council recently extended the timeframe for the ambitious project from its original four years to 10 years. We think that 20 years might be more appropriate, given the lack of external funding and the land ownership complexity along the north bank. However, the finished product will be a great blessing for Melburnians and will help to link the CBD to the river. Commendable also is the deconstruction process for the former EXXON-Mobil building. Noise and mess are minimal, and all is shrouded in wrap-around fabric for safety. We wait with bated breath to see what will appear on that large block of prime waterfront land.

Please remember that for timely information about events happening in the precinct, simply head to yarrariver.melbourne/events •