The developer behind a proposed shopping centre with a full-line supermarket is set to appeal Sunshine Coast Council’s decision to reject it.
NeuBau Group’s application for a retail precinct with a Coles at Palmwoods was essentially thrown out at the council’s general meeting on Thursday.
It was declined after a council report recommended it be refused, largely because of its location outside of the town centre and because there is a long-existing approval for a smaller supermarket within the town centre.
Ten of 11 councillors refused it, but Cr Christian Dickson did not. He said the proposed facility was close enough to the middle of the town and would create jobs. He also said the already-approved shopping mall had basically lay dormant for 15 years.
NeuBau Group director Tim Reed told Sunshine Coast News the developer would appeal the decision in the Planning and Environment Court.
The NeuBau concept is for a shopping centre with 2615sqm of floor space, including a supermarket and liquor store, at 22 Palmwoods Montville Road.
The report said the planned precinct did not adhere to the town planning scheme and it was outside the designated business centre and in a Medium Residential Zone.
“The proposed development represents a major out-of-centre development that would undermine the Sunshine Coast Activity Centre Network and would fragment the Palmwoods Local Activity Centre,” it said.
“The proposed development would draw retailing activity away from and outside of the Palmwoods Local Retail Activity Centre and would result in Palmwoods having a fragmented, disconnected and unwalkable centre, to the detriment of its character, identity, functionality and viability.
“While the applicant has demonstrated a need for a supermarket within Palmwoods, this need and the community and economic benefits can be largely satisfied by the development of a moderately sized supermarket within the Palmwoods Activity Centre, noting there is a current approval for a shopping centre well located within the town centre.”
The report said the proposed precinct would jeopardise the delivery of the already-approved centre.
The report also stated that it did not suit the area.
“The bulk, scale and design of the proposal is not consistent with the desired rural town character for Palmwoods and does not contribute positively to the traditional streetscape,” it stated.
“(It is) not sympathetic to the existing and intended scale and character of surrounding residential development, and compromises the residential amenity of the area.
“The proposal does not deliver medium density housing as envisaged by the zoning provisions of the Planning Scheme but rather would result in the loss of a significant parcel of land intended to provide greater housing diversity and choice within Palmwoods.”
The planned development is about 230m from the main street and 350m from the town centre.
During a public notification period, there were 224 submissions of support and 10 against.
Mr Reed said many people in the area wanted it to proceed.
He told SCN before the council meeting that the recommended refusal was “disappointing” and NeuBau would fight a rejection.
“We would appeal the decision in the Planning and Environment Court,” he said.
Mr Reed said the mooted shopping centre and Palmwoods were a good fit.
“After research into the need – a 2500sqm supermarket, not a 1200sqm one – as well as a number of meetings with locals and an extensive look into where another site could potentially be and that could service the need, it was pretty easy to see the use and the site made sense,” he said.
NeuBau purchased the site, with approval for 55 townhouses on its southern edge, and started earthworks. But the developer planned to deliver a shopping centre in lieu of the townhouses. Without approval for the shopping centre, NeuBau could still develop the townhouses.
The approval for the other shopping mall, a 2500sqm complex with a 1200sqm supermarket, within the Palmwoods Local Centre Zone adjoining Main Street, was updated last year and remains current until March 2029.
There has been a history of shopping centre approvals over the site since 2006 but works are yet to get underway. Developer Burnett Street Nominees Pty Ltd is behind that project.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
