Supermarket giant Woolworths has confirmed it would be the
tenant for the site if the DA is successful.
Developer Harold Finger said he was appealing the council’s
decision because he felt planning staff who rejected the DA under delegated
authority had failed to consider the development on all it’s merits, and
believed they felt pressured by vocal resident opposition.
“We were shocked about the rejection, having purchased
the site and got a reasonable feel from residents and a positive nod from
council and traffic planners and after all the consultation we had engaged
in,” Mr Finger said.
A large number of Erskineville residents have steadfastly opposed
the 2200sq m supermarket on the grounds of traffic Increases in what they say
is already a heavily congested area.
Resident group Erskineville Village Friends collected more
than 4300 signatures in a petition opposing the supermarket. Spokesman Paul
Howard said the DA contained flawed and misleading information about where the
supermarket’s customers would come from and said many would drive there from
further afield than Newtown
and Erskineville.
“It’s going to have a huge impact in traffic, the few
thousand people in walking distance would not be enough to support a
supermarket of this size,” he said.
Mr Finger rejected the claims the supermarket would cause
traffic problems.
“This is not a supermarket that is designed for
cars,” he said.
“It’s purely for walk-in customers. There will be some
people like the elderly who need to drive, however it’s for the
Newtown/Erskineville catchment area.
“There are no supermarkets of this boutique style in
the area. The other two nearby are very poor and don’t offer a full line
service and are out-of-date.”
A spokesman for Sydney Council said the DA had not met with
a number of planning regulations, including amenity, traffic and public interest.
“The City of Sydney
will be vigorously defending its refusal of the proposal, particularly given
the significant traffic and residential amenity impacts the proposal is likely
to have in the neighbourhood,” the spokesman said.
Source:
Central 11 June 2008