Alternative Media Group

Starved Waterloo begs for groceries

Author:

Angus Thompson

Posted:

Thursday, 6 August 2009

Discount grocery chain ALDI’s bid to set up shop in Waterloo has brought a wave of support from residents, who say the franchise could provide affordable relief to famished area.
Locals are petitioning heavily for its approval, fearing Sydney City Council could slam another supermarket application for interfering with its Green Square retail vision.
Waterloo public housing tenant Ross Smith said the development would provide employment opportunities during and after construction, as well a source of cheap groceries.
“There’s a tremendous need for a competitive supermarket in the area. We’ve noticed that as soon as you get an ALDI in the area, or another major player, then existing ones get a bit keen in their pricing when they realise they haven’t got a captive market,” said Mr Smith.
He said he had received well over 200 signatures in the last few days backing the centre.
But after Council’s recent rejection of an ALDI store in St Peters, its chances in Waterloo are looking slim.
A 2008 Council retail study into South Sydney’s industrial area concluded that any retail development outside the proposed Green Square Town Centre could only be of a ‘minor or ancillary nature’.
The site on Burrows Road in St Peters is approximately 3 km from the Green Square centre but the site on Bourke Street, Waterloo, is less than half that distance from the precinct.
Nearby Danks Street has also been targeted as a retail ‘village’ as part of Council’s vision, which could further damage ALDI’s chances for approval.
Councillor John McInerney, who voted against the ALDI store in St Peters said that there were major traffic problems that could affect the new application, but wouldn’t say anything further until the matter went to Council.
Planning Minister and Minister for Redfern-Waterloo, Kristina Keneally, reiterated her calls for the store’s approval, saying that South Sydney residents were subjected to higher prices and travelling longer distances for groceries.
“More choice means lower prices – a particular benefit in an area with high density of both public and private rental housing,” she said.

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