Yarra introduces one of Melbourne’s first permanent outdoor dining programs

Yarra City Council will waive all parklet and footpath trading fees until April 2022 and make its temporary outdoor dining program permanent.

At last night’s Council Meeting, Council supported the introduction of the new permanent program and parklet policy.

This is one of the first permanent outdoor dining program to be endorsed in Melbourne.

Council has waived all fees associated with having a parklet until April 2022.

Under the program, businesses will be able to trade in allocated parklets across Yarra without any caps on the number of parklets a business can have. They will also be able to install rooves on their parklets to provide protection from the elements.

The program also includes options for either 6-month (summer) or 12-month permits, giving local traders added flexibility.

Yarra Mayor Councillor Gabrielle de Vietri said Council had worked in partnership with community and local traders to develop a program and policy that would continue to meet the needs of local businesses and community.

“We have spoken to hundreds of businesses in Yarra who have benefited greatly from Yarra’s temporary program and we are delighted to announce that the program is here to stay,” Mayor de Vietri said.

“This permanent program represents a fundamental shift in how our streets and food and dining precincts operate, making them more vibrant and accessible.”

“Not only will it support businesses to increase their seating capacity, trade and revenue but it will support local jobs.”

Mayor de Vietri said this announcement was another example of Council’s ongoing support for local business.

“This builds on Council’s considerable support for local business with more than $3 million in direct grants and fee waivers provided since the beginning of the pandemic,” she said.

“As we reach our vaccination targets and begin to open up, this program will give Yarra’s food and dining precincts a much-needed boost.”

As part of the program Council has also endorsed a tiered fee structure based around the fair and equitable sharing of public space. This includes a further discounted rate to support businesses during COVID and in the post pandemic recovery and the option of further fee waivers if Melbourne experiences future lockdowns.

The majority of current parklet operators will pay as little as $2.31 per day per parklet after April 2022 and then approximately $6 per day after October 2022.

Yarra Year 1 Parklet Fees:

Street type Number of carparksPer bay fee, per year 25% discount applied to bay fee Additionally apply 5-month waiver on discounted bay fees (1 Nov to 31 March)Application and inspection fee 1 Nov to

31 March ‘Summer’ permit

1 Nov to 30 September 2022 Average cost per day for annual fee
Primary 1 $5,000 $3,750.00 $1,875.00 $0 $0 $1,875.00 $5.14
Secondary 1 $3,000 $2,250.00 $1,125.00 $0 $0 $1,125.00 $3.08
Neighbourhood 1 $2,250 $1,687.50 $843.75 $0 $0 $843.75 $2.31

Yarra Year 2 Parklet Fees:

Street typeNumber of carparksPer bay fee, per yearFlat rate application and inspection fee1 Oct to

31 March ‘Summer’ permit

1 Oct to 30 September 2022Average cost per day for annual fee
Primary1$5,000$275$2,775.00$5,275.00$14.45
Secondary1$3,000$275$1,775.00$3,275.00$8.97
Neighbourhood1$2,250$275$1,400.00$2,525.00$6.92

Since the temporary outdoor dining program was introduced by council in October 2020, Yarra has created over 485 additional outdoor dining spaces including 150 new footpath trading areas, 200 extensions to existing footpath trading, 130 on-street parklets and 8 large-scale outdoor dining spaces created through road or laneway closures.

/Public Release. View in full here.