Maclean IGA plan lodged
WHILE the community continues to debate the merits or otherwise of a new supermarket for Maclean's CBD, representatives of IGA Metcash lodged a formal development application yesterday.
Clarence Valley Council deputy general manager Des Schroder said the DA would be treated like any other and would be assessed on its merits and processed in due course.
"IGA will need to meet all the requirements of a normal DA of this type and will need to provide due consideration for pedestrians, traffic and parking, among other things," Mr Schroder said.
He said that provided the DA met all requirements it would be at least a month before any announcement was made.
Mr Schroder said the land on which the supermarket was to be built was yet to be rezoned, but council had resolved to sub-divide a section of the car park for development and maintain Cameron Park as an open space.
Plans to rezone the car park will be on display from early next week for 28 days, giving the community the opportunity to provide input.
Once council approves rezoning of the land it will be submitted to the state planning department for independent review.
President of the Maclean Chamber of Commerce Travis McConnell said yesterday's meeting between the Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Richie Williams, and the developer IGA Metcash was informal and overall positive and exciting.
"It's the Chamber's role to support something positive for Maclean... we need a supermarket," he said.
"The plans look great."
Mr McConnell encouraged the community to take the time to look at the plans in order to have a balanced opinion.
Metcash CEO Silvestro Morabito said he hoped the new supermarket would be up and running by October next year, employing about 70 people in a mix of part-time, casual and full-time roles.
In July 2011, Clarence Valley councillors voted 7-2 to accept $2.5 million from Metcash on behalf of IGA supermarkets to buy a 3750sq m section of the Cameron St car park to build a supermarket in the CBD, if the Department of Planning approved rezoning of the site.
Most councillors said the issue had dragged on too long and Maclean needed the development approved in order to move ahead, but councillors Ian Tiley and Pat Comben expressed strong opposition to the sale.
The controversial development has been rejected by some sectors of the community who oppose the sale of the car park.
"What we are concerned about is that when the supermarket gets built they are going to run out of parking, and there is nothing to stop them bulldozing the park," said Maclean resident Jane Beeby in August.
