In addition to the 220 objection letters to Council, the
community group is encouraging residents to write directly to Woolworths.
“We are pretty much letting Woolworths know that this is
just not the right location for this in the community,” said Victoria Rati,
spokesperson for Friends of Erskineville.
City of Sydney
Councillor and former Erskineville resident Shane
Mallard said it could have a lot of negative impact upon Erskineville’s neighbourhood
area. “But at the same time,” Mr Mallard said, “I live in Potts Point and just
about everyone there would say it’s a blessing we’ve got a Woolworths”.
Mr Mallard said most residents access the Potts Point
supermarket by foot. “With no car park it’s patronised by all the local
people,” he said. “It’s a major success story for the area and it has helped
attract more businesses to the shopping strip.”
Ms Rati is concerned about the impact on resident parking
and traffc fow. “There seems to be a complete denial of the implications,” she
said. “There’s going to be a car-park for 30 cars.”
Mr Mallard concedes that the two developments cannot be
compared. “You can’t fully take the lessons from Potts Point and apply them to
Erskineville because they have different demographics and
communities,” he said.
Without having seen a report, Mr Mallard says the
Erskineville proposal probably needs to be scaled back before Council can
consider it. He did acknowledge, however, that a Woolworths could be beneficial
to the area.
Source:
South Sydney Herald March 2008 – www.southsydneyherald.com.au