Pushing hard post-lockdown

The past 18 months has been nothing short of devastating for the Docklands business community. 

We would argue that there hasn’t been a single precinct or postcode anywhere in Australia that has been hit harder financially. 

Prior to COVID restrictions, Docklands averaged 130,000 pedestrian visitors daily – 475 million pedestrian visitors annually. 

During the most recent lockdown pedestrian counts totalled as low as 4000 per day with the highest daily total occurring in May in a lockdown recovery phase still not equating to 20 per cent of previous traffic.

Docklands has also been hit with a mass exodus of residents. Known as a centre for international students, that population has completely disappeared. 

Corporate workers have left the precinct with no need to be Docklands-based and lifestyle residents have left to regional areas. 

Prior to 2020 Docklands averaged 100 to 120 residential rental vacancies advertised across the two major platforms. At the height of lockdown, Docklands had more than 1100 advertised properties.

The sum result of this is that the Docklands Chamber of Commerce estimates that in excess of 50 per cent of businesses in the precinct either will not, or have not, survived and that the precinct as a whole has suffered a loss of annual revenue well in excess of 90 per cent.

We are going to be extremely active post lockdown focussing on small regular activations which we believe is the immediate action needed, along with the continuation of Docklands Dollars. We are also integrally involved in discussions with both Development Victoria and the City of Melbourne to reactivate Docklands post-lockdown in a more permanent and visual way. 

We look forward to supporting the business and residential community in lifting out of
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