Mirvac defers Harold Park supermarket bid
The controversial development application for a supermarket at the old Harold Park tram sheds has been deferred to give Mirvac more time to respond to revisions imposed by the City of Sydney.
The development assessment, for which conditional approval was granted, contained 122 areas of regulation including hours of operation, bicycle parking, signage and noise.
While many of the conditions are general in nature, some are highly prescriptive. The supermarket would not be allowed to open past 10pm on any night. No outdoor seating was approved for any part of the development. Under the conditions, any noise complaint substantiated by council would require the store to cease operation until “attenuation works” take place.
Furthermore, council required management procedures to be in place to prevent customers removing trolleys from the centre’s main entry. And the developer was required to provide at least 84 bicycle parking spaces, with 24 reserved for employees. In addition, “a bicycle facilities room must be provided” with a minimum of three showers and 24 personal lockers.
A Mirvac spokesperson told City News: “Mirvac requested that the City of Sydney’s consideration of the development application be deferred to allow it more time to undertake the redesign of elements relating to car parking, bicycle configuration within the tram shed, retail layout and circulation and access to the community space.”
The DA is expected to come before council again in February. City News put a number of questions to the council about the rationale for conditions imposed on the development, and whether they had arisen from public submissions or from council officers. A City of Sydney spokesperson declined to comment because the matter had been deferred.
Janet McLachlan, who lives adjacent to the development site, opposes the supermarket.
“I love the idea of something going in there [but] not a giant supermarket,” she said. “You don’t put a main thoroughfare through a park.”
The urban renewal project at Harold Park is expected to provide 1250 dwellings for 2500 residents and 3.8 hectares of open space.
