Second supermarket for Grantville community

THE main item on a threadbare agenda at this Wednesday’s Bass Coast Shire Council meeting is an application for a $9.5 million supermarket and shopping centre development at Grantville.

It never rains but it pours!

For decades the community of Grantville and district has been calling out for a supermarket to be established in the town, now, less than two weeks after a Foodworks supermarket opens in the old Mitre 10 Hardware shop, comes news that would-be developers want to open up another, bigger one, right across the road.

Deputy Mayor and local resident Cr Rochelle Halstead said the irony wasn’t lost on locals.

“At the end of the day, our job as councillors is simply to consider a planning application, the rest is a commercial decision for the investors,” said Cr Halstead this week.

“But, yes, that’s certainly been the conversation around the town.

“The Waterline area is a fast-growing area, however, not just along the waterfront but also in the hinterland and it’s going to need more services.

“Whether it needs two supermarkets now, I don’t know, but these investors don’t go into projects like this without doing their research,” she said.

Several local traders in the existing Grantville shopping centre have been approached to take up space in the new shopping centre.

But at least one of them has rejected the offer.

“I couldn’t afford the rent increase. They offered me a smaller shop for 35 per cent more in rent,” said the Grantville trader.

“They say it’s all about the construction costs, but I couldn’t justify that sort of an increase.

“We’ve only just got a new supermarket and they tell me they’re going OK but certainly not well enough to warrant another supermarket,” he said.

“And they’re proposing a new gym as well but it’s an older population here. I’m not sure how many will be going to the gym.”

The ‘Bass Village Retail Development For Leading Edge Property Group’ application to go before council on Wednesday proposes to use and develop the land for shops (supermarket including bottle shop, shops and pharmacy), office (bank), retail premises (two food and drink premises and postal agency), and service station in a Mixed-use Zone (MUZ).

The application sets out plans for native vegetation removal and the alteration of access to Transport Zone in accordance with architectural plans prepared by Select Architects.

The total leasable retail area is 3524 square metres.
Council officers have given the project their overall seal of approval noting it is “considered worthy of support as it meets the overall strategic direction for the site and context”.

But the shire has listed areas for improvement with the application including:

• Wider footpaths to allow for kerb side trading.

• More seating areas not linked to the café would allow for picnic and other social interactions.

• Greater landscaping opportunities.

• Making the liquor drive through less dominant.

• Adding a colour scheme which was more complimentary to the area.

“It is acknowledged the community’s need for a supermarket is great, with locals commuting 30-plus minutes for groceries, however it is considered that at same time the community deserves a well-considered and designed development to service their needs. To address the outstanding design concerns, conditions on any permit that would issue will require amended plans to alleviate these concerns.”

Although written before the opening of the new Foodworks, the report to council also notes that Grantville is a “gateway town” and that the “expectation is for a development which responds to the site’s prominence”.