The December meeting of the Community Consultative Committee (CCC) for the new Sydney Fish market was blindsided when the builder, Multiplex, announced it was no longer ‘within their scope of works’ to build the ferry wharf for the new Fish Market. Did this mean there would not be a wharf? Or was another company going to build it? If so, when? As usual, the CCC was left in the dark. The designated representative of the overseeing body, Infrastructure NSW (INSW), Greg Lin, was absent, and the two other reps were clueless.
The meeting erupted as community members expressed their frustration with the lack of communication from INSW, which felt to some to be deliberate. The CCC has been meeting for over three years; December’s meeting was our fortieth. Despite repeated requests from the CCC, requests that originate from the local community that will be significantly affected by the new Fish Market, INSW and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) have repeatedly refused to act in a transparent manner to inform the committee and answer our questions. INSW has been reluctant to answer questions put in person and in writing, and to engage other government departments, especially TfNSW.
Will there or won’t there be a ferry?
The CCC left the December meeting unsure if the new Fish Market would have a ferry service. Ironically, in the first week of January, the Sydney Morning Herald ran an article headlined ‘New Sydney ferry route set to challenge Manly trip as must-do’. In the article TfNSW coordinator general Howard Collins was quoted as saying the ferry services were likely to be very busy, and they would start ‘when they’re ready to operate’. Clearly he knows how INSW works.
Yes, there will be a public wharf. Just don’t buy your tickets yet. Greg Lin informed the CCC the public wharf will be built, but after the entire building is finished. His report raised more questions than it answered. And when will the building be finished? Mr Lin said INSW expects to hand the keys to the Fish Market at ‘the back end of this year’. That does not mean it will open then, just that businesses can begin their fitouts then.
And will there be a ferry service? Mr Lin said INSW is doing ‘a bit of work. It is not bedded down … but there will be a ferry’, pointing out the obvious, that the wharf must first be completed. And when will that be? Some time after the fishing fleet moves from the current fish market to the new one. The reason for the delay is the fishing fleet uses the concrete Fish Market wharf to unload their fresh fish, but that wharf ends very close to the new Fish Market. It is not logistically possible to build a wharf at the eastern end of the new fish market until the concrete wharf is removed.
The new Fish Market has five wharfs for the fishing fleet, which Mr Lin said can take eight or nine large vessels ‘and heaps of smaller vessels’. But CCC member, John Faulkner, who has been writing a book about the history of Sydney’s fish markets, pointed out there are only two net trawler fishing vessels left in the fleet, the Cape Conway and the Illawarra Star. The rest have retired. Mr Lin said they had planned for six.
Mr Faulkner said there are also three working smaller trap and line boats that catch crabs and lobsters, although again INSW planned for more. Despite claims that the new Fish Market will be authentic, the reality is the percentage of the catch sold that is delivered by boat has been falling, and is now less than four per cent of total sales.
Long-line tuna boats also come in occasionally to unload. Under the current system, the boats unload their fresh catch at the concrete wharf, the one nearest Bridge Road. The two trawlers tie up at that wharf, while trap and line boats tie up at the second wharf, the timber wharf, as do the visiting tuna boats.
At the new Fish Market the trawlers will have their choice of wharfs, the smaller boats will tie up along the western side of the western wharf where there will be plenty of room, while the visiting tuna boats, which are very big, will tie up on the western side of the public wharf. When it is finished.
Recreational boats will be permitted to tie up for a short period on the eastern side of the public wharf, while the end of the wharf, where there will be several piles set in the water nearby, is designed to take a commercial ferry.
The new wharf will be 50 metres long and six metres wide.
‘Many outstanding questions remain’
The February meeting was also treated to a written reply from TfNSW. Despite repeated requests there has only been one meeting with TfNSW, and that was several years ago. Repeated requests for another have been denied. Last October the CCC, sent a list of questions to TfNSW, which were finally answered, unsatisfactorily in a number of cases, in early February. Many outstanding questions remain:
Ø The proposed ferry: what size will the ferry be; where else will it stop; will it terminate at Barangaroo like the Glebe ferry, or at Circular Quay?
Ø How will the morning traffic to the Fish Market, the workers and buyers, the small vans from fish shops, the large trucks carrying fish to the market (less than 5 per cent will arrive via water) be managed? Will Bridge Road be blocked through Glebe, above Taylor Street where it is only one lane, with vehicles waiting to enter the Fish Market?
Ø Buses will not be able to turn right from Bridge Road coming from the direction of the city, so they will need to access the fish markets either via Wentworth Park Road or Bridge Road via Glebe. How will this be managed? Where will the buses park after dropping off their passengers?
Ø The new Fish Market expects to double visitor numbers but has the same number of car parking spaces as the old one. Where will the overflow park? Councillor Jess Miller said the City of Sydney ‘will monitor changes to parking behaviour in the streets surrounding the new Fish Market once it is open’ and, if there are problems, will review parking time limits and duration of stay, and even consider introducing paid parking, with exemptions for residents. Rangers could increase patrols in areas ‘where significant non-compliant behaviour warrants it’. The expectation is that most visitors will use public transport: the light rail, the metro when it is built and the ferry when that is finalised. One suspects the prospect of carrying a bag of fresh fish home on the Sydney public transport network will not be as appealing as parking in the streets of Glebe.
Ø Finally, how much will the new Fish Market cost the taxpayers of this state? The figure is currently $836 million. Will that include the cost of the public wharf? You can ask INSW, but don’t expect an answer.
The meeting also addressed the flooding event along Bridge Road and Wentworth Park Road on 10 February 2025, which raised serious safety questions. The intersection between Bridge Road and Wentworth Road was badly affected. When the new Fish Market opens, this intersection will be busy with pedestrians, bicycles and cars and a flood of that size could result in injury or worse. What will the authorities do to ensure a flood like this does not happen again?
I will address this in the next issue of the Bulletin. In the meantime, I would like to hear from people with recollections of flooding in the area. I can be contacted via fishmarket@glebesociety.org.au.
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