The Dunedin City Council has given the Otago Farmers Market Trust consent to operate a market in the car park of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa on Macandrew Rd.
The consent hearings committee said it would foster community wellbeing while encouraging the sale of locally-grown goods within walking distance of a densely populated suburb.
The consent would not threaten the the integrity of the district plan; it was a "true exception" proposed for one of the very few places suitable for running a market in South Dunedin.
Trust chairman Rodger Whitson yesterday welcomed the just-released decision but warned his committee still had to decide when the market should go ahead.
As the market was originally conceived to run from November to April, there were only three months left in which to make the inaugural market a first-up success, Mr Whitson said.
"That is not a long time, and we have to work through the conditions and see what the traffic management plan will mean for the market and for costs," he said.
"We've done a lot of work already, but now we have to have a look at the decision and see when would be the best time to start."
Mr Whitson confirmed 35 people, many of them stallholders at the trust's Saturday market, were interested in a stall at the new market and that more were expected to apply now that consent had been granted.
Noting submitters' concerns in its decision, the hearings committee indicated the application came with a workable traffic management plan and the prospect of extensive parking nearby.
Noise would not be an issue as the busy road was already a "very high-noise environment" and loud activities could be located at "appropriate parts" of the site.
It granted consent for the market to operate on a Wednesday between 3pm and 6pm, but said vendors could only enter the site to set up their stalls after 2pm, and had to leave by 7pm.
The trust's traffic management plan would have to be approved by the council, and would have to include details of speed restrictions, marshalling, no-stopping restrictions and traffic signs.
A representative of the trust would also have to be available during the market's hours of operation to ensure any complaints could be dealt with promptly, the committee said in its decision.
Mosgiel horticulturist Brian Miller, one of three people to oppose the application at the hearing last month, was yesterday worried it would threaten the long-term viability of the Saturday market.
He and other Saturday stallholders were concerned their subscriptions would subsidise the costs of the mid-week market, "meaning we're paying to help our competition", he said.
