Chapel Street is one of Melbourne’s most diverse and iconic precincts. Stretching across 2.5 kilometres through South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor, its mix of retail, dining and entertainment continues to attract locals and visitors alike.
The story so far
For decades, Chapel Street has been a destination known for its energy, creativity and culture – constantly evolving alongside Melbourne itself.
Chapel Street has evolved to offer much more than just retail - from a buzzing wellness scene with gyms galore, vibey pubs and clubs, and Instagrammable brunch spots to new mixed-use development on the rise.
However, like many high streets globally, the precinct is facing challenges with changing shopping habits, rising costs of doing business, and community concerns about safety and anti-social behaviour. This is our plan to help turn that around.
The Chapel Street Precinct Improvement Plan
We all want to see continued success for Chapel Street – now and into future. That is where the Chapel Street Precinct Improvement Plan comes in. It’s an integrated plan designed to uplift the precinct with a targeted program of actions to strengthen business and community confidence, support public safety, improve cleanliness and enhance amenity.
Read our Chapel Street Improvement Plan(PDF, 264KB).
The plan was first launched in July 2025 with a $4.38 million investment. For 2026/27 there is an additional $4.4m invested. That includes $1.2m of special rate funds – the money collected from commercial property owners on Chapel Street to directly contribute to the marketing, promotion and business development and increased visitation of the precinct.
Five key focus areas
- Visitation – marketing, activation campaigns and events to attract more visitors and encourage spending
- Safety – coordinated programs to improve real and perceived challenges to day and nighttime safety including through increased safety patrols
- Amenity – enhanced cleaning, including pressure washing, graffiti and rapid-response cleaning, as well as infrastructure upgrades
- Business support – two additional new roles dedicated to the Chapel Street precinct, to expand Council support for businesses and strengthen digital marketing for Chapel Street
- Planning – working with partners and advocating for Chapel Street to ensure its future success, including through new precinct planning.
Our partners
We can’t do it alone – and the strength of this plan is in partnership. We’re working closely with:
Advocacy
Advocacy is an important piece in the puzzle. The challenges faced by Chapel Street are deeply interconnected and cannot be solved by one single agency alone – it requires all levels of government stepping up to make meaningful change. We are advocating for increased police resourcing, a better CCTV network and investment in key anchor sites in the precinct.
Actions items Council is advocating for
Projects Council is seeking funding for
Council also has a number of projects for which we are seeking funding from external partners:
Business support
If you’re a business in the Chapel Street precinct, there is a new on-street team dedicated to supporting you.
Contact details for businesses
- Contact Jessica Farrugia – Chapel Street Business Liaison Officer for connecting into Council’s services (permits, waste, cleaning etc) by emailing Chapelst@stonnington.vic.gov.au.
- Contact Dane Windley – Chapel Street Digital Marketing Officer to promote your business through our digital channels by emailing Dwindley@stonnington.vic.gov.au.
Events and workshops
We have free events coming up for Chapel Street traders.
Social media 101 for Chapel Street traders
A practical beginner's guide to building your business on social media.
Wednesday 15 July, 10am - 11.30am or 6pm - 7.30pm
Prahran Town Hall, 180 Greville St
Book now
Chapel Street Precinct Improvement Plan - Year 2 update
Hear from other businesses and learn more about our $4.4M spend towards revitalising Chapel St.
Tuesday 21 July, 10am - 11.30 am or 6pm - 7.30pm
Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran
Book now
Managing difficult customers for Chapel St traders
Practical training to help customer-facing staff with challenging, aggressive or high-risk situations.
Wednesday 22 July, 10am - 11.30am
Prahran Town Hall, 180 Greville St
Book now
Stay in the loop
Instagram: @chapelstprecinct
TikTok: @chapelstprecinct
Chapel Street Precinct | Melbourne's Premier Shopping & Dining Hub
Chapel Street Economic Data
Explore the latest insights into Chapel Street, local economy, including visitation, spend, vacancy, transport, and parking trends.