Shopkeepers in Newport have come out in support of the proposed Woolworths Supermarket amid claims that its opponents had used bullying and intimidation to get signatures on a petition against the development.
In one instance a whole arcade of shop owners had signed a letter in support of Woolworths saying that the project would rejuvenate what is currently a dead area for pedestrian traffic.
According to Mr. Gordon Dodd of M-T Baskets the new design by Woolworths with an underground car park and the new façade on Barrenjoey Road had satisfied many previous opponents of the scheme. There is also a proposal to link the car park directly with Robertson Road.
Mr. Dodd said many shopkeepers in Newport had remained silent on the issue fearing a backlash from the opponents and some had come to him with stories of bullying tactics and intimidation in order to get them to sign a petition against the scheme.
The shopkeepers have been writing to all councillors on the issue and held a meeting with Cr. Bob Dunbar late last month to express their support for the plan.
Mr. Dodd said the new underground car park would create about 150 extra car parking spaces, and Woolworths had intimated that it could build a special loading dock for shopkeepers who currently unload in the open above ground car park and were worried about losing this facility.
Mr. Dodd said that the new Woolworths would generate a lot of foot traffic to that part of Newport which would benefit the smaller speciality shops.
He said a number of shopkeepers other than those in the arcade had indicated their support for the proposal.
He said the change by Woolworths to an underground car park and changes to the façade on Barrenjoey Road, with shops and a café had been a positive step by the supermarket group.
"We are all passionate about this development and waiting to see Newport revitalised" he said.
He added that many people who signed the original petition did so when the plan was for a ground level car park with cars parked up to the front of the building on Barrenjoey Road, and had since changed their minds with the new plan.
The leader of the group, Mr. Barry Rhodes, who has owned the Boonchu Thai restaurant for many years, has asked Woolworths to provide a courtesy bus from the beachside car park to the southern end of the Newport Strip during the construction period.
He has also written to all councillors and council staff expressing his and the other shopkeepers’ support for the project.
He also confirmed that Westpac is to put an ATM at the front of his shop, and that it would be installed before the proposed Bendigo and St. George Banks opened.
Mr. Rhodes also said that he had complaints from shopkeepers, including his son who manages the restaurant, of intimidatory behaviour from opponents of the Woolworth's scheme. |
