"No Woolies DA, yet" Mosman Mayor speaks

Extract from Mosman Daily - 28/3/2019 - Your Say

Military Rd heritage streetscape 

No Woolies DA, yet

I need to inform John Geismar (“Rumours ramp up”, Your Say, MD, March 14) and the Mosman community that from a risk and governance perspective, I need to remain impartial to the possibility of Woolworths developing a supermarket and residential complex on Military Rd because Mosman Council has yet to receive a development application.

Our local environmental plans and the accompanying development controls for our business centres are strong and robust and clearly articulate that Mosman Junction maintains the Military Rd heritage streetscape as one of Australia’s most significant Federation streetscapes. Be 100 percent confident that if a development application by Woolworths is received by council, as your mayor I will do everything within my power to preserve and protect our village amenity.

It is important for the community to know that if this development application does proceed, the determining body is likely to not be your local council, but a five-member Sydney Planning Panel, which has only one councillor and the current chair of the Mosman Local Planning Panel as our local representatives, but three State Government appointed members. If the development is approved by the Sydney Planning Panel, council and residents have no right to a merits based legal appeal of the decision.

Carolyn Corrigan,

Mayor of Mosman

Cost of big business

My sympathy is extended to the residents in Mosman regarding the proposed Woolworths development. As a long-term resident of Kirribilli, I’m sorry to say that we now have a Woolworths Metro in a prime position in Kirribilli village.

This will no doubt impact on the many small businesses that have catered well for the local community and the many visitors to the village. Already we have lost our fruit shop. At last count we have approximately 16 coffee outlets and now we also have a “hole in the wall” selling takeaway coffees at Woolworths.

Who knows how many more local businesses will fail due to this totally inappropriate development.

Geraldine Gibson, Kirribilli