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The Forum > Article Comments > Bega council plays politics with Woolworths > Comments

Bega council plays politics with Woolworths : Comments

By Richard Stanton, published 4/2/2013

City councillors too often get panicked by the slightest amount of political pressure.

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…Why no mention of the land and environment court of appeals? The best course of action for the local council in controversial and politically sensitive issues such as publicly contested development applications, is to veto the application. A veto allows all local government officials with a public sensitive profile to stand back from sensitive decision making, and forces the controversial development to be assessed at a more remote level.

…This course of action is expensive, and is the “real” balancing act between “politics and the purse”, (also not mentioned in the article).

…Democracy in Local Government comes at a dollar expense, and will be paid for by the rate payer in the end
Posted by diver dan, Monday, 4 February 2013 8:18:40 AM
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The Woolworths supermarket will probably have a major impact but not necessarily bad. The proximity of the supermarket to existing shops is important. Supermarkets tend to attract the shoppers to their precinct and if the existing shops are nearby then they will probably survive. Should the supermarket be some distance from the main shopping centre, then this will be disastrous for existing shops. Eventually all the smaller shops will cluster around the new supermarket so it is important to site it correctly

Maybe the atmosphere of Bermagui will change but that should be balanced against the improvement to the quality of life if a supermarket is available. The most important aspect is to site the supermarket sensibly.
Posted by Wattle, Monday, 4 February 2013 11:11:49 AM
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The tension between the magnet and the mainstreet can only be resolved by negotiation as Coles was forced to do in Oatley NSW. Recently as before the supermarket council said that malls had not affected mainstreets - well, Hunter St in Newcastle has never and will never recover from the 1960-1970s predations. I am very interested in how well Bega Valley negotiated and how the community sees the council's performance.
Posted by Frederic Marshall, Monday, 4 February 2013 11:38:41 AM
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One of the things that worries locals and newcomers to Bermagui alike is what Woolworths represents. Not in terms of its corporate image, but in terms of it auguring in the end of an era. Locals live in Bermagui because they like its village atmosphere, which exists for the greater part of the year after the various tourist seasons. The retirees that live there, chose it because it represents the antithesis of all they detest about city living.

Still, it has long astounded me that when people move to the country, they tend to spend their remaining years lobbying to make changes that will embody everything they fled the city to avoid. Because the locals tend not to be as cashed-up as the new folks, their family businesses can seldom compete with big concerns, and as the town changes and grows, they find themselves fleeing to escape the new developments imposed upon them largely by newcomers.

But we also need to remember that when concerns like Woolworths come to town, they seldom come alone. Bega is an example. Woolworths came to town, along with Big-W, and the Woolworths equivalent of Bunnings will soon be installed, as will a Woolworths petrol station, or so it is rumoured. A great deal of custom has been drawn out of Bega’s main street and business is hurting. We have also lost a number of services, only to gain duplicate services in in their place.

And now that there are sundry drawcards bringing people in to Bega, McDonalds has set its sights on a location in the main street, and a new Target will open this year.

I think the question that must be asked/faced is whether the people who want to be able to buy a greater variety of stuff without leaving Bermagui, are willing to pay the price the Ferryman will ask i.e. living with many more ‘strangers’ in a much bigger, much busier place, not just at Christmas and Easter, but all year round?
Posted by Hunter, Monday, 4 February 2013 11:46:39 AM
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Richard,

Councillors are ELECTED to represent the PEOPLE and their views. They vote accordingly.

Council Officers are EMPLOYED to present their VIEWS to the council and to carry out the Councils' decisions.

Employed Council Officials do NOT represent the PEOPLE,

It's called DEMOCRACY !!

Novel Idea, isn't it?
Posted by Aspley, Monday, 4 February 2013 1:42:08 PM
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To Frederic Marshall

I grew up in Oatley, (Mallard is one of the oldest names in the suburb) and now live in Bega (20 years), after 12 years in Bermagui first. I holidayed in Bermagui from 1960 'til 1978, so I think I know both places quite well.

Bermagui is similar to Oatley in one main respect. Both towns are "off the highway"…they are discrete hamlets you don’t tend to find by accident, and this has kept them both relatively small. Like Oatley (and Bega too for that matter) Bermagui lacks good accessible parking close to the shops, with overflow parking being relegated to the old caravan park (an open field) between Lamont St and the beach.

Bega also lacked parking and what Coles brought to Bega was easy, underground, accessible parking and air-conditioned shopping, making the trip to Bega more accessible and comfortable for shoppers in all weathers.

I do not believe Coles Bega affords people greater access to more necessities of life. What it does is affords them greater access to miscellaneous and largely non-essential ‘stuff’, which they can browse and buy in comfort. This is not the same as improving services or quality of life.

Bermagui does not suffer the often oppressive weather conditions of Bega, but nor does Narooma just 20 minutes up the Hwy. What some people in Bermagui and other coastal hamlets may forget is that 20 minutes to a major shopping centre is no distance whatsoever. Narooma has all the major outlets I believe, and getting to all those outlets in the city may mean travelling to many suburbs in traffic, because not every suburb is host to the whole spectrum of Coles, a Woolies etc etc.

My view is that if people would happily destroy the general small hamlet ambiance of a town like Bermagui, just to save themselves a poultry 20 minutes in a car so they can buy the latest K-Tel can opener, well…….why on earth did they move there in the first instance?....Could have shifted to Narooma, or Bega, or stayed put in Hurstville.

Garry Mallard
Posted by Hunter, Monday, 4 February 2013 2:11:49 PM
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