A festive feel to the Crown Street Mall

With only 51 days until Christmas, Wollongong City Council has given the Crown Street Mall a festive spruce up this week.

The Mall’s Christmas decorations have been installed with a colourful tree laden with baubles and fairylights forming the centrepiece. The work is part of Council’s focus on reactivating our city’s public spaces, including the Crown Street Mall, as part of the post-lockdown reopening phase.

“This is an exciting time for the city and this post-lockdown period is an opportunity for us to take a fresh look at our public spaces and places – especially since many of us have been following the Public Health Order and haven’t been able to visit the city’s CBD,’’ Wollongong City Council’s Director Community Services Kerry Hunt said.

“As a Council we’ve used COVID-19 to explore new opportunities for our city like widening the scope of outdoor dining and supporting our mobile food vans.

“Activation activities in the Crown Street Mall are also an essential part of this. Over the coming months we’ll see a range of initiatives like the launch of the City of Wollongong Giving Tree, Aus Music Month activities, and the Biker’s Toy Run celebrated in our city’s business, retail and social heart.’’

This week Council has also confirmed the new operator of the Mall’s Thursday night and Friday markets following a competitive tender process. The new operator, Blue Sky Markets, met with Council staff today to work through their operational and safety requirements.

“I know many people will be excited to hear that markets are returning to the Mall and we are very much looking forward to welcoming this operator into the Mall space soon,’’ Ms Hunt said.

“When we went to tender for the delivery of Mall’s two, distinctive market offerings we were looking for an operator who would balance the social, economic and activation benefits for our community. We looked for someone who responded to local community needs, offered a range of products from the region and supported both farmers and creative small businesses.

“Blue Sky Markets have 10 years’ market operations experience and currently produce the well-known markets in Bondi, Chinatown, Paddington and South Bank Brisbane. We’re confident they will deliver markets our community wants and expects.’’

The new Hire Agreement with Blue Sky Markets will run until September 2024. The tender processes follows the expiry of the previous Hire Agreement.

“This is a very exciting time for a new market operator to come onboard and it’s a great opportunity for the city to try something new,’’ Ms Hunt said.

“We anticipate the new operator will be up and running as soon as possible and I’d encourage any local businesses and stallholders keen to get involved to contact Blue Sky Markets directly.’’

Comment from a Blue Sky Markets' spokesperson:

“We are very much looking forward to working with Council, local businesses and stallholders to get the Markets back up and running as from 9 December 2021. During the early months we will be undertaking a review of the Markets to see where improvements can be made, and we are also looking at adding to the range of great food on offer. Tapping into local networks to expand the variety of products that are grown, made and designed locally is our first priority. During these recent lockdowns, people have been tinkering in their workshops, experimenting in their kitchens and designing patterns on bedroom floors. We are excited to welcome their new ideas to the Market! A new name and website will be out soon but in the meantime contact us by email: office@blueskymarkets.com.au or call 0402 280 766.’’