The future of the iconic Queen Victoria Market is in peril unless ambitious redevelopment plans are implemented, lord mayor Robert Doyle has warned.

Traders at the 135-year-old market had told the council that without a major reinvestment over five years, many of them would be gone, Cr Doyle said.

The 135-year-old Queen Victoria Market is being slated for an ambitious redevelopment. Credit:Justin McManus

''The traders have said they will go broke,'' Cr Doyle said. ''No traders, no market.''

Cr Doyle's comments step up Melbourne City Council's push to overhaul the market, with the Town Hall still awaiting a state government sign-off on the project because Spring Street owns some of the land involved.