Flower show extension sparks fresh Carlton Gardens concerns

A decision to extend the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show’s licence in Carlton Gardens until 2029 has reignited concerns about community consultation and the long-term protection of the World Heritage-listed precinct.

The event, one of Melbourne’s major annual attractions, has long been contentious among local residents and heritage advocates due to its use of the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, which received UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2004.

While supporters argue the show brings colour, visitors and activity to the city, critics have consistently raised concerns about the impact of heavy foot traffic, temporary structures, machinery and repeated event use on the historic gardens, lawns and ageing trees.

EastEnders president Dr Stan Capp recently raised the issue at Town Hall, asking what process the City of Melbourne would follow in deciding whether to agree to an extension of the event’s licence beyond 2026.

The existing licence, approved by council in September 2022, allowed the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show to use Carlton Gardens South for three years from 2024 to 2026, with an option to extend for a further three years from 2027 to 2029 by mutual agreement.

Dr Capp asked whether key stakeholders would be engaged before a decision was made, or whether, given publicity for the 2027 event was already under way, the decision had effectively already been taken.

In a written response, the City of Melbourne confirmed the option to extend had now been exercised.

“Following the Council Meeting of 2022, Council approved a licence for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show for the period 2024–2026, with an option to extend for a further three years (2027–2029),” the council said.

The council said it noted concerns raised by Dr Capp and others and would “continue to work closely with event organisers and relevant stakeholders in the planning and delivery of future events”.

But Dr Capp said the process appeared to have removed the opportunity for meaningful community engagement and, from what he could see, any formal consideration by councillors.

“This has all the elements of a poor process that seems to have eliminated any community engagement,” he said.

“So much for the new community engagement policy.”

The concern comes only weeks after the City of Melbourne adopted a new community engagement policy, which councillors said was intended to make consultation clearer, more transparent and more meaningful.

That policy states that where there is limited opportunity for the community to influence an outcome, the council’s role should be to inform the community rather than seek feedback.

For heritage advocates, the show’s licence now poses an early test of how that policy will operate in practice.

The Carlton Residents’ Association, Friends of the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, Protectors of Public Land Victoria and EastEnders have previously called for the show to be moved from Carlton Gardens, arguing that repeated use places too much pressure on the fragile World Heritage site.

In 2024, the Carlton Residents’ Association proposed relocating the event to Birrarung Marr and reimagining it as a broader city flower festival.

At the time, then-environment portfolio chair Cr Rohan Leppert said the new licence contained “significant conditions and requirements” and that it would be unfair to rule out an extension before any event had been held under the new agreement.

But with the extension now exercised, local groups are again questioning whether one of Melbourne’s most important heritage landscapes is being asked to carry too much. •