Over 2800 Petitions to be tabled opposing new town centre

PROPOSED SHEARWATER TOWN CENTRE AND DEVELOPMENT
Over 2800 Petitions to be tabled opposing new town centre –
Council planning changes block development options, a cruel hoax

Tuesday 13 November 2012

More than 2800 people have signed a petition out of a community of a little over 4000 saying no to the establishment of a new town centre with a Woolworths supermarket and specialty shops 700 metres from our existing Shearwater town centre, said Guy Barnett, spokesperson of the Save Our Seaside Village (‘SOSV’) group today.

“The Latrobe Council has either wittingly or unwittingly set up a David and Goliath battle but denying David even a few stones for the battle. The Council has pitted one of Australia’s biggest corporations and other chain retail stores against Tasmanian independent owned and operated small businesses. These include the local baker, newsagent, chemist, bottle shop owner, butcher and supermarket.

“It is a cruel hoax imposed on law abiding rate-paying retailers and businesses that are currently fighting like crazy to make ends meet. For the existing Shearwater retail businesses the Council has tied both hands behind their back and tied their feet together as well. This is a huge injustice that must be stopped, he said.

Town Planner Michael Ball said the Latrobe Council’s amendment to the planning scheme to prohibit a single shop or shops with a combined area of 250 square metres gross floor area was in his opinion unprecedented.

“In my thirty years experience as a town planner in Tasmania this is the only instance where development options that were previously permitted have been removed in this way.

“It is likely that the only way new retail development can be attracted to the new site is by removing the potential for competition from the existing Shearwater town centre. These changes reinforce my opinion that Council has a clear strategy of changing the function of the existing Shearwater town centre and the creation of a new town centre on a greenfields site. The Council’s preclusion of developments of more than 250 square metres apply not just to a single shop but an application for two or more specialty shops with a combined gross floor area of 250 square metres. This change came in to effect on 24 April 2008,” he said.

“The SOSV are in favour of sustainable development, which will enhance our town and enrich our community. The establishment of a new town centre, including a Woolworths supermarket and specialty shops, 700 metres from our existing town centre, will divide our community and fragment our town. We are not Hobart or Melbourne, said Guy Barnett.

“Unfortunately the Latrobe Council did not undertake a retail floor space audit or an economic impact study in 2006, when they rezoned the relevant area in Alexander Street. Renaissance Planning prepared the independent ‘Shearwater Town Centre Review’ in November 2011. This report concluded:

“…there is sufficient capacity in the existing town centre to accommodate the additional floor space requirements for the period through to 2021 and to 2036.”

Any new development can and should occur in the existing town centre.

“In any event, 2006 was then and 2012 is now. We have had the global financial crisis, closures of the pulp mill and Tascot Templeton, and other bad economic news. This is the worst possible time to be considering the establishment of a new town centre. The Mayor, Mike Gaffney, has stated that “Port Sorell is the fastest growing area in Tasmania”. It is not. The latest ABS statistics state that it is not even in the top five Tasmanian statistical areas in terms of either population growth or percentage growth.

Paul Foster, owner and manager of Tempt Bakery & Cafe said “The new town centre with the proposed Woolworths supermarket and specialty shops will cause significant detrimental economic and social impact on the existing Shearwater community including retailers, businesses, employees and their families, and also the tourism potential and amenity of Shearwater and surrounding areas. It will impact particularly on the elderly. My bakery and cafe is in serious jeopardy now.”

“We have asked the Latrobe Council to reconsider their plans for a new town centre and work with existing businesses and community members to develop and grow the existing town centre. We have also written a fifteen page submission to Council and met with them in a workshop and a meeting, said Guy Barnett.

“We have also written to both Woolworths and the property developer asking them to reconsider, and stating any new development can and should occur in the existing Shearwater town centre.

“We have commissioned a Master Plan for the existing Shearwater town centre that confirms any future major supermarket and specialty shops development can & should occur in the existing town centre.

“This situation is anti-competitive, unfair and now entirely unacceptable. There is no level playing field at all. The Shearwater community is fighting back. People power and common sense can prevail”, he concluded.
Guy Barnett