Councillor Chris Harris

The City of Sydney Council recently approved the construction of a supermarket in the small village of Erskineville. The applicant originally proposed a large 2000 sq metre plus supermarket but after a local campaign, a refusal by Council staff and finally a failed appeal in the Land & Environment Court, the applicant was back with a slimmed down version. This time he wanted a smaller version measuring under 1000 sq metres and this time it was decided by the 10 councillors who received hundreds of written submissions from local residents plus a 1500+ petition opposing the new proposal.

What is at stake here is the viability of a small village in the City of Sydney. For the supermarket to be viable it will need to take business away from the small businesses that have created a charming diversity in the Erskineville village. In fact, history shows that this new presence will make some of the businesses unviable and cause them to close.

City of Sydney staff, who recommended the proposal for approval, focused on whether or not the supermarket would draw its business from outside the area. However, the question that staff should have posed in their assessment was whether or not the existence of this supermarket would threaten the sustainability of the village.

The new project will only have been supported by investors if there is a business case demonstrating it will get at least 20% of business from existing stores. New car parking spots will be sought by shoppers and new car trips will be generated. Traffic in Erskineville, especially at peak shopping times, is already a nightmare.

Viable village communities are sustainable; people walk and don’t drive, the social networks are stronger, people meet in the street and talk to each other, local businesses reinvest their profits in the local community and support the council rate base. They support local food suppliers and local environmental initiatives. Supermarkets that want you through the checkout and out the door as quickly as possible have been the death of main streets all over Australia.  If the operators are part of a large chain, the local spending is drained from the community and sent elsewhere – often overseas as dividends to foreign corporations.

If Erskineville, which has been growing organically, has high levels of pedestrian growth and was an early adopter of car share cars, cannot be protected from the supermarket then the ‘city of villages’ policy is doomed. The City should remove the “City of Villages” from its stationery and its website – it is nothing more than a slogan –  a sham.

Postscript

When this matter came to council on Monday 21st September both Irene and I opposed the approval of the project. The Clover Moore Party councillors and the Liberal Councillor voted in favour of a supermarket in the Erskineville village. The Labor councillor voted with the Greens.

Postscript