Woolworths changes tack and downsizes its plans
Huge community opposition to a proposed massive Woolworths’ development in the heart of Mosman Village has forced the supermarket giant to change course and announce plans for a significantly smaller store which at first sight appears to preserve the existing building envelope, heritage facades and village streetscape.
Big is banished
This is what was proposed by Woolworths only a few months ago –
Small is beautiful?
This is what Woolworths is now submitting to Council and the community for approval –
Woolworths is proposing to build a “small-format Metro store” (up to 500 square metres) on the ground floor behind the existing facades of 731-741 Military Road, between Mosman Club and what was Pasta Zu, with the latter becoming a cafe.
To quote Woolworths, “If approved, the Metro store will use the existing two-storey buildings, and will involve restoring the heritage shopfronts and retaining the high street atmosphere.”
Also proposed is a laneway between the new cafe and the Metro store, with 22 additional car spaces and a delivery dock at the back.
Woolworths states the Metro store is intended to target ‘walk-up’ rather than driving customers, with basket rather than trolley shopping predominating.
Woolworths also says that there will be two mid-sized (8.8m) truck deliveries a day via the rear lane. This does not include an unspecified number of deliveries from specialist providers.
Woolworths’ website also claims that a report by its traffic consultant found that “the surrounding road network can satisfactorily accommodate the proposal, and all intersections will operate at their existing level of service.”
(This is not likely to reassure or convince local residents and visitors who regularly suffer the severe congestion at the Military Road intersections with Belmont Road and Gouldsbury Street. Woolworths’ traffic report will be lodged with its DA, so Council and residents will have an opportunity to critique its analysis then.)
Can Woolworths restore community trust and good will?
In changing its plans for Mosman, Woolworths also appears to have changed its approach and acknowledged that it needs to be more open and directly engaged with the community.
It would be fair to say Woolworths will have its work cut out rebuilding the trust and good will it has lost within the community over the last year or so.
Woolworths held an informal “community drop-in-session” to view its plans and to “meet the project team” on 4 December 2019 at the Mosman Art Gallery. If you attended, please share what you learned and what you think by leaving a comment below.
Woolworths has also launched a dedicated website providing details of the new proposal at https://www.mosmanmetro.com. It’s worth a thorough look if you want to know the full picture – as Woolworths paints it.
Of immediate concern is that Woolworths may lodge the Development Application just before or during the Christmas holiday period when Council planners have less time to rigorously assess the application.
It would be an auspicious indication of its desire to rebuild community trust and good will if Woolworths delayed lodging the DA until the new year.
We’ll provide suggestions for making submissions when the DA is lodged and Council notifies the public of the application. And we’ll keep you posted along the way.
What do you reckon?
There will be different reactions within the community to the new plans from Woolworths.
Most residents will remain very concerned about the inevitable impact on traffic and local competing retailers.
Some in the community may see it as a good outcome, some may see the proposal as a least-worst compromise, and some may want to continue outright opposition.
Please let Woolworths, Council and your fellow residents know your opinion by leaving a comment below.
Your comments will also assist us here at MVC know better how to represent and articulate the wishes of the community in the weeks and months ahead.
Community counts
The members of Mosman Village Community have demonstrated that community action and speaking out can change the biggest plans of the biggest corporations.
Woolworths was proposing a 3,500 square metre full-line supermarket with hundreds of underground car spaces, 15 retail outlets and dozens of apartments above, requiring the demolition of existing buildings and a massive excavation.
Woolworths is now stating that “Mosman’s unique and loved village atmosphere has actively informed [its new] plans” for a smaller store, and that “the shops fronts [will] integrate with the feel of Mosman Village.”
That’s a change in the right direction, but is it enough?
We will continue to monitor developments, keep you informed, and seek your input and support.
I personally would not trust Woolworths to get a toe into the Mosman village. I don’t believe they have the interests of the community at heart in any way, once they get some sort of development into Mosman, they will want to expand. We don’t need further food providers in Mosman, we have fantastic facilities at Spit Junction with Harris Farm, Fourth Village and IGA both there and at the Raglan end of Mosman. Harris farm has much fresher produce with a much faster and greater turn over, compared to Woolworths. Woolworths are a huge conglomerate, wanting to bulldoze their way into the community, pushing out smaller established businesses and changing the face of the community.
Increased traffic, delivery of goods and speciality foods as well as their own trucks, it will add hugely to the congestion we already get in Mosman.
Woolworths have two huge supermarkets practically next door to each other in Neutral Bay, they dominate the entire food supply there, squeezing out all Independent operators, I don’t think they should be allowed anywhere near Mosman because their interests are all about the corporation and making money for shareholders, not the community’s they take over. I do not and will not shop there.