Willoughby Council drops controversial fee hike after Chatswood Market vendors speak out

Following outcry from stallholders, Willoughby Council has made the decision to lower its fee hike from 60 to 15 percent.

Huw Bradshaw
June 25, 2025

Willoughby City Council has resolved to reject its controversial proposal to increase the fees for Chatswood Mall Market vendors.

The proposed fee hike, which increased the daily fee of vendors by 60 percent, was met with strong criticism from stallholders.

At a Willoughby Council public forum last Monday, Sia Bardi, owner of the Greek Corner stall, spoke out against the proposed fee hike.

“After over a decade of loyalty and hard work, I feel we have been pushed out.” Bardi said. “Our daily fee has jumped from $370 to $592”

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Martin Brown, owner of plant stall Martin’s Gardens, also spoke against the proposal. “I’m telling my customer already that odds are I won’t be here in two weeks time.”

“A lot of my customers are elderly, they’re not necessarily on social media. So if I was to update people and say I’m not going to be here in a few weeks, a lot of my customers wouldn’t know that.”

Annabelle Edouard-Betsy, owner of Arlecchino On The Road, said stallholders deserved more respect.

“We’re hard working small business owners who work upwards of 21 hours in one day, multiple days a week, keeping this market alive, while sacrificing valuable time with our families. We deserve fairness, transparency and respect.”

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Many other stallholders also spoke against the proposal.

Following Willoughby City Council’s meeting on Monday, June 23, the decision was made to reject this initial proposal, instead only increasing the fee for stallholders by 15 percent, to $426 a day for freshly cooked onsite food retailers and $161 a day for non-food stallholders.

“We heard the community loud and clear,” said Mayor Tanya Taylor in a statement released following the decision.

“This decision reflects Council’s commitment to fairness, transparency and the long-term success of the Chatswood Mall Market.”