Preston Market is a special place to hundreds of thousands of people in the northern suburbs, and not only for the fresh food: it is an irreplaceable community space that provides us with a connection between each other and the wider community. But it is under attack from billionaire developers who want to demolish 80% of it, build a car park on top of the remainder, and replace the rest with a smaller shopping mall that looks a lot more like Northland or Boxhill than the thriving open-air market that we know and love.

In April the state government announced it would protect Preston Market with heritage planning controls, following the advice of an expert planning panel which reported that Preston Market is too important to the community to be demolished. In response, the owners of Preston Market are trying to force the government to allow the demolition by threatening to close Preston Market in January 2024, which would mean the end of the traders' businesses, and with them the market.

We need to send a message to the government that they must put the interests of the many before the private profit of a few and save 100% of Preston Market and with it 100% of the traders! Public Acquisition is the best way to ensure that Preston Market is safe from greedy developers, and that it remains the heart of our beautiful community into the future: the state government needs to stand by the community of the northern suburbs and buy Preston Market to ensure its future!

Don’t stand by and let greedy developers trash our community: come and make yourself heard at Hands Around Preston Market!

August 12th at 11am, underneath Preston Railway Station.

Download an A4 event poster here or an A2 poster here to print your own!

To get involved in the Save The Preston Market Action Group send us an email: savetheprestonmarket@gmail.com

For regular updates search “Save Preston Market” on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

This coming Thursday come with us to visit Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny's office and let her know that we are waiting for her to fulfil her promise to the community and protect 100% of Preston Market! The umpire has made the call that keeping the market is the best thing for our community - we must encourage her to stand strong and side with the community, NOT the developers!

Community pressure has made the Victorian Government commit to protecting Preston Market!

However, they have yet to lay out how much of the market exactly will be protected.

Meanwhile, the developers Salta Properties have said they will increase the traders' rents, reduce their leases, and close the market if their huge multi-story re-development plan is not approved.

This is exactly why the Victorian Government should buy Preston Market off the developers!

If the market were in public hands we could be sure that it was safe and that the traders could continue trading with absolute certainty over their futures.

Come along to the town hall meeting to hear the case for public acquisition and have your questions about the market's future answered.

We are inviting the Premier and Planning Minister, as well as the Mayor of Darebin and local politicians and the developers to come and hear what the community wants for Preston Market.

Thousands and thousands of community members have signed petitions to Save Preston Market - over 30,000!

This Thursday come to the steps of Parliament house at 1pm where we will be teaming up with Darebin City Council to present both of our petitions to Victorian MPs!

The Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has been specifically invited along with Labor's MP for Reservoir-Preston Nathan Lambert and other MPs.

Come, bring a friend or workmate, and show your support for Preston Market!

e need to send a message to Nathan Lambert, our new state MP, that Preston Market is not going anywhere and that he needs to step up and join the community to save our beloved market!

Show your love of our community and support the traders! We want an end to the business that is going on behind closed doors right now, and we want the market Publicly Acquired so that it is protected into the future!

Come and protest outside new Preston-Reservoir MP Nathan Lambert's office at 352 Bell St, Preston, this coming Wednesday!

We will be there between 4.30pm and 6pm so come by after school/work. If you can come for the whole time, fantastic! If you can only drop by for a little while that's great too, the important thing is to come and show your support!

Please SHARE THIS EVENT with your family, school networks, your place of worship, your sports team. Share it anywhere people might care about Preston Market!

Join us this Saturday in front of the Preston City Oval (on Cramer St) to celebrate the end of a fantastic (and intense) year!

I think its important that we take a moment to celebrate how amazing our collective achievements have been this year. Whether it was the determined community presentations at the SAC, the weekly stalls outside the market, or the election campaign to make Preston a marginal seat, each of us has had a direct and real impact on ensuring that Preston Market will have every chance of surviving into the future. Each of us has played our role and has made a difference in this campaign to Save Preston Market.

Given how hectic the end of the year usually is, this will be a pretty low-key event where we can hang-out and catch-up with each other! There will be a sausage sizzle as well as face painting and a lucky dip for the kids!

Please come along!

CALLING ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS!

The time to get involved in the Save The Preston Market community campaign is NOW.

With the upcoming state election, as well as as a state government hearing to decide the fate of the market, we need everyone who cares about the market to GET INVOLVED!

We have a bunch of activities and campaigns on the go that need staunch members of the community who are prepared to stand up to the greed of the developers.

We also welcome any and all fresh ideas and skills that you may contribute to the campaign.

The market will not survive without YOUR involvement!

Come down to the grass in front of Darebin Town Hall to have something to eat, play some kids' games, and meet other members of the community who want to save the Preston Market! We will also be holding a community consultation on what people would like to see happen with the market under public acquisition.

We will be taking a photo at 12pm - come down, bring your friends, and help us send a message that the Preston Market it here to stay!