Twelve months of the Victoria Street revitalisation program, funded through the Victorian Government's multicultural trader program and delivered with Yarra City Council, Victoria Police, Collingwood Rotary, Richmond Community Watch and local partners.
August 2025. Program launched on the street with a trader event alongside Council, Collingwood Rotary and the Minister's office. 25 businesses took part.
October 2025. Street safety forum with Victoria Police. Traders told us safety came before everything else, so we ran it first. Anti-social behaviour, lighting, and how to report problems. 12 businesses attended.
December 2025. Business and marketing workshop with an external adviser, because traders wanted to understand their own marketing and what a stronger street is worth to them. 15 businesses attended.
February 2026. Business law session on hiring and leasing, delivered with a commercial law firm. Practical guidance for traders taking on staff or signing a shop lease. 12 businesses attended.
April 2026. Parking engagement with the City of Yarra on continuing one-hour free parking, so customers can stay long enough to shop and eat. In progress.
Across 2025–26. Four street clean-up days with Collingwood Rotary and Richmond Community Watch. 50 business participations. Presentation is what people judge the street by before anything else.
2026. Greening and street furniture, designed, permitted and installed with Yarra City Council, targeting the places people had least reason to stop. 11 businesses involved.
2026. Community mural at Ben Thanh Market. Artist commissioned, residents' approval secured, solar lighting so it stays visible after dark. 11 businesses involved.
June 2026. Business Expo with live entertainment and street wellness. A day built to test what actually brings people onto the strip.
Safety first, because that is what traders asked for. Then skills, then presentation, then activation. That order was not ours. It came from the street.
hello@victoriastreet.org.au | 0475 833 595 | victoriastreet.org.au
