The DA for a two-storey, 2200sq m supermarket with 27 car
spaces has come under fire from residents who are concerned it will cause
traffic congestion and impact on the village atmosphere for which Erskineville
is famous.
The shopping giant had previously denied it was behind the
DA, which was lodged by Artro Management on behalf of an unknown developer who
owns the site.
Resident group Friends of Erskineville Village has so far
collected 4500 signatures opposing the supermarket, and has criticised
favourable comparisons made in the DA with two boutique Woolworths supermarkets
in Inner Sydney.
“The DA used comparisons to two Woolworths supermarkets
to support assertions the traffic impacts on local roads will be minimal,”
Friends of Erskineville spokesman Paul Howard said.
“The. DA argues that the bulk of customers would walk,
as at the Woolworths at St Margarets Surry Hills and another one at Potts
Point.
“What it misses is that both those supermarkets are
smaller and have far more people in their catchment area than what’s proposed
here.”
According to Mr Howard, St Margarets has 11,500 residents
living within half a kilometre radius of the supermarket, while the Potts Point
Woolworths has almost 18,000.
“We have a fraction of the population, just 3500
residents, yet the supermarket proposed here is bigger than the other two, so
we don’t believe it will be people just walking, they will
want to drive,” he said. “We estimate more than 80
per cent of the trading base will be from outside the area.”
A Woolworths spokesman said the proposed store would reflect
its “successful” stores in Surry Hills and Potts Point.
“They have been designed especially with the needs of
these distinct urban communities in mind,” the spokesman said. “They
are of a smaller size, have a strong emphasis on foot traffic and, as such,
they are trolley free.”
The matter is expected to come before Sydney Council in
coming months.
Picture: Phil Rogers – Erskineville residents oppose a new
Woolworths at this site for traffic reasons.
Source:
Central 7 May 2008