We have been asked this question and it is only right that we are questioned on this.
The answer is simple: it will be professionally governed and professionally managed.
Once the Old Packhouse Market is secured in community ownership, we will appoint a suitably qualified small Board of Directors. Their role will be governance; setting strategic direction, ensuring financial oversight, protecting the asset, and safeguarding long-term sustainability.
Governance and day-to-day management are not the same thing. The Board will not run the Market. They will appoint a capable and experienced General Manager/CEO to oversee all operations.
That General Manager will be responsible for the smooth running of the Market as a whole; commercial performance, operational systems, staffing, compliance, and reporting.
In addition, each individual venture operating within the OPM precinct will have its own professional oversight and management structures appropriate to its scale and function. Some will operate as commercial leases. Others may be structured as cooperative or social enterprise models with their own governance and accountability.
This is not an informal arrangement. It is a structured, layered model designed to combine community ownership with commercial discipline.
In summary, the community will own the asset, while a skilled Board provides governance and strategic oversight, a professional General Manager leads day-to-day operations, and experienced teams deliver the work within each venture; all supported by clear lines of responsibility, strong accountability, and transparent reporting.
The Market already operates successfully. Our role is to strengthen its structure, protect its integrity, and ensure it continues to thrive; not through goodwill alone, but through sound governance and competent management.
Community ownership does not mean casual management. It means careful stewardship, and that is exactly what we intend to deliver.
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