Truck Off!! No Megamart for Bondi Beach

The REAL costs

Sure Woolworths and Coles have cheap prices – sometimes below cost in fact – but at what cost to our society? To achieve their "everyday low prices" you can bet the mega-marts are squeezing farmers and suppliers, profiting from gambling addiction and damaging the environment. Sometimes they just drop prices and take the hit until the competition is starved out as we've seen happen around the country (try NOT shopping at Coles or Woolies in some towns!)

And the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) thinks we're onto something! It is currently investigating Woolworths and Coles for potential breaches of the law and bullying tactics against food and grocery suppliers. 

Read more about the ACCC investigation in this SMH article 

Read more about the impact on farmers in this SMH article

Watch this SBS report

 

Trucks, trucks and more trucks..and don’t mention the Parking!

  • Trucks almost NINE meters long will be entering/leaving the Beach Road loading dock multiple times a day between 6am and 10pm. The frequency of delivery/service vehicles associated with the supermarket according to the applicant’s traffic report will be at least:
    • Medium Rigid Vehicles: 6‐10 x 8.8 meter long trucks/day
    • Waste Collection Vehicles: 1 truck/day
    • Small delivery vans: approximately 10/day
  • Car parking for the supermarket will be provided at a cost as part of the total non-resident car park within the basement parking area. Bondi Beach has restricted entry and exit routes.  Traffic has to come from Bondi Junction either down Bondi Rd or O’Brien St, both already under stress as high traffic areas. 
  • In August 2011, Waverley Council reduced the non-residential parking servicing 7,408 m2 of retail/commercial space from 215 to 175 spaces.  There will therefore be insufficient parking spaces to service this ‘destination’ supermarket as well as the other retail and hospitality services the Swiss Grand is offering. The Planning Dept’s own statement (p.8) in relation to parking proves the concern for inadequate parking provision: “…that at some point the 175 allocated public parking spaces will be at capacity given the original approval on this site allows an undersupply compared to the DCP parking rates”.
  • The Planning Dept’s report (p.8) based its approval for parking rates on a PREVIOUS DA and states: “…that the retail space and traffic implications were previously considered by the Traffic Committee as part of the overall redevelopment DA.”   This PREVIOUS consideration does not then address the additional issues that a large scale supermarket would bring.

 

Loss of Local Jobs, Local shops, Local Profits

THEY SAY ”It will also create additional retail jobs to the area which supports the objectives of General Business 3(a) zone….The proposed supermarket and its 24 hour use will enhance Bondi Town Centre as a 24 hour centre, and enhance the range of good ambience in the centre. This will have significant social benefits for the local community, enhancing amenity and choice; also assist in the socioeconomic wellbeing of the locality through job creation.(Statement of Environmental Effects-SEE). BUT….

  • 61 small businesses and/or family-owned operations will be seriously affected if a major retail supermarket chain opens at the proposed site. This equates to at least 200-240 livelihoods being adversely affected. For example, for every 10 jobs created by Woolworths, 17 jobs are lost in the existing local business community (Council of Small Business Organisations, Australia )   
  • 90% of money generated from local business stay within community, compared to 20% from large retail operators (Council of Small Business Organisations, Australia).
  • The "Let's Have fair Competition" Report by Master Grocers Australia (August 2012) has accused supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths of deliberately killing off their smaller competitors. "This behaviour by the chains is really putting at risk the loss of retail diversity, choice for consumers and true competition," Jos de Bruin, Chief Executive.
  • For example, the arrival of Woolworths two years ago in the Victorian town of Bright (population 2000) has devastated local producers and retailers. A total of 23 local businesses have been put up for sale or lease, and those still operating are suffering. The IGA Manager says his business has lost half its sales and had to lay off half of its staff.  He believes the main problem is that Woolworths was allowed to open a supermarket that is much larger than is actually needed. "When permit was approved there was already two supermarkets in town, more than adequately servicing the demands that existed," he said….Sound familiar?

 

Loss of Shopping Choice in the Long Term

THEY SAY “Tenancies will provide products locally that are currently unavailable, by expanding the range and product lines of produce, household items and other everyday items otherwise not available within the Bondi Beach precinct.” (SEE). BUT…

  • This is untrue given the presence of two IGA's and a number of convenience stores, mini-supermarkets, chemists, and newsagents in the local Bondi basin currently operating with extended trading hours.  However, what we don’t have, is Coles or Woolworths Branded products!!
  • Coles and Woolworths control 70% of the nation's grocery dollar (ACCC to investigate Coles, Woolies, SMH, 14/2/13). Due to the economics of scale, smaller neighbourhood businesses with overlapping retail services cannot operate when up against the duopoly. Shops will close, we will LOSE CHOICE and then the items on the shelf will contain an ever-increasing proportion of Coles or Woolworths products.(Food groups unite as battle with the house brands erupts, The Age, 18/8/05.)

 

Hours of Supermarket Trading

The current Development Control Plan (2012) has wound back trading hours on Campbell Parade and Hall Street from 6am-2am to 7am-11pm.  This brings the area in line with the rest of Waverley and is a reflection of what the community wants. However, as this DA was submitted 3 weeks prior to the cut-off, this supermarket will only be subject to the outdated 2010 DCP.

The Police Commander has requested that the supermarket be closed at 12am to avoid the congregation of displaced patrons leaving closing licensed premises and potential for antisocial behaviour and to facilitate the egress of these persons out of the area.

More Plastics on our Beach

THEY SAY “Waste will be appropriately managed and collected to minimise any potential noise and odour.” (SEE).

  • BUT how will this be implemented and regulated long term?  How much waste is expected to be generated from the operation of a large supermarket?
  • There has been NO mention of the management of disposed plastic shopping bags, food packaging and plastic bottles.  It is unprecedented to have a large supermarket right next to Bondi Beach and it is inevitable that large amounts of plastics will end up polluting Bondi Beach and the ocean, the latter leading to increased mortality of marine mammals, birds and turtles.  

 

Size of the Barns

The supermarket site is 1290m2 and the liquor store site is 189m2. This makes the liquor store 70-300% larger than the eleven existing liquor stores in the Bondi Basin.  The Supermarket will be three times the size of the Hall Street IGA.

 

 

Take Action