Giralang shops update

Actually aidan, I know of at least ten people who emailed GRAG regarding the issue – and even got flyers in my letterbox about opposition to a major supermarket in the area. I don’t believe that GRAG has taken these concerns into account. I also believe it is incorrect for GRAG to say they are reflecting the needs of the suburb. I know of plenty of people who would have been happy with townhouses!

rephlex said :

And Trolleys are going to be scattered in the vicinity of any supermarket that offers them to their customers..

Not if they have to pay for them! Aldi make you put money in the handle of the trolley to get it, and when you return the trolley you get your money out again. You don’t see Aldi trolleys wandering off.

aidan said :

Supabarn offer a great product. They have high staff numbers so waiting at checkouts is almost never a problem. If you are dragging kids (or worse, babies) along to the shops this is a huge benefit. Even without kids, who wants to wait in a Supermarket checkout queue?

Not me! In fact I whinged and complained to Coles head office until they fixed this at Qbn Coles. to the point that now, they’ll have people staffing checkouts waiting for customers. They never have to wait long.

I was very impressed with this change of policy, especially as Qbn Woollies evidently went the other way and mandated that everyone must wait in a line there.

Belly aching about Grag is also a bit rich because they received about 3 emails from the public expressing their views about the Woolworths proposal. If Grag had not put in as much work as they did they would probably be building townhouses right now. Not a good result.

Look, the facts as I see them:

– The current lease holders do not want to run shops.

– They have deliberately run the shop site down so that they will not realise much money if they sold it.

– The application to demo the shops and put medium density housing on the site has been (rightly) knocked back.

– We do not have a government with the courage to cancel their lease (they are in breach of their lease conditions as they are not running shops on the site, nor are they maintaining the site to an appropriate standard) and sell it to someone who would be willing to refurbish it and make it a going concern (Clearly the amount the Government would sell it for would be heavily discounted as a large amount would need to be spent to get it up to scratch. It may even need to be levelled and rebuilt).

So. We are at an impasse. The Woolworths proposal breaks this deadlock. They have the resources to redevelop the site and present an attractive enough deal to the Nikias group.

Woolworths has the potential to draw extra customers from outside the suburb, which boosts the other smaller shops that will be in the centre. Everyone wins.

The downsides are:

– Increased traffic flow.

– Change in nature of the shops: from one small supermarket, a pub, newsagent, hairdresser, bakery and (sometimes) a take-away to one medium sized supermarket, a grog shop and a couple of other shops (nature unknown).

– Possibly the quality of a Woolworths might be questionable. I would say that the IGA Nikias ran was very ordinary. Anything else would be an improvement. Plus, if they do intend to compete with Supabarn they’ll have to have decent quality or they won’t get the customers (Supabarn has an excellent F&V and Deli — so much so they put the Deli Planet in Kaleen out of business).

Sepi is on the money with reality there. Lets be honest even the multi-attempts at a cafe next to All Bar Nun in O’Connor were not exactly proof of concept for a cafe in a suburb.

I think the really sucky thing is that it appeared that the owner/developer intentionally wanted to redevelop the site and let the existing facilities run-down in preparation.

Of course we need to actually go to local shops if we expect them to survive.

I”m all for it too – being mean about GRAG is a bit rich. I’m sure if you joined up they would speak for you. And you could always form your own lobby group.

You may prefer a small IGA and a restaurant – so would I – but you cna’t just order up what you would like at your local shops.

I’d say any supermarket is better than boarded up shops.

Some people are hard to please.

If a small Woolies or Coles helps Giralang then I’m all for it. As a long time Kaleen resident I can’t help but feel that Giralang shops got swamped by the Kaleen Supa barn shops (we really are spoilt having three sets of shops!!) and really fell apart. Put a nice restaurant and takeaway there plus a small supermarket and the shops would be decent again.

rephlex said :

As for discussion about Charnwood and Kambah Woolworths being a dive – is it any different to supermarkets that go under any other name? Unfortunately, some things will be inferior (such as Fruit and Veg), but everything else? Unless you want/need the convenience, getting such produce from the markets is going to be a better idea anyway.

Actually, I find that the fruit and veg at the woolworths in Woden a thousand times fresher than the stock at wollies in Kambah. I dont really have anything against the brand itself, just the one at Kambah. I dont think I should have to go to the markets to buy fruit and veg if my local supermarket continuously claims that they are the “fresh food people”.

zagons – I’m with you. I don’t want a Woolies in my suburb and GRAG does not speak for me – pity they’re the ones working the media and the powers that be.

I agree. I can’t see a Woolies being the best thing for a local shop where it is situation in Giralang. Why not put in an IGA, bakery, newsagent, restaurant etc? While I’m guessing/hoping a bit of competition would help Supabarn in Kaleen lower their prices a bit (they seem to go up every week nowadays), I don’t think Woolies is the answer for a small local suburban shops.

zagons said :

It is the GRAG update, with my comment as an add-on. I live in the area and the last thing I want is a Woolworths. GRAG claim to be reflecting the views of the suburb – but there are alot of people in the suburb who do not want a mass supermarket and dumped trolleys everywhere…It would be nice if they did some community consultation.

Funny that the people dumping the trolleys everywhere will probably be the Giralang residents who desperately don’t want the Woolies. There wouldn’t be trolleys dumped anywhere if people started using their half a brain.

As for the fruit&veg debate, it’s the same fruit as all the other stores get, comes off the same truck, though May be that they don’t get rid of the old stock quick enough. Kambah and Charny are the two smallest stores in Canberra, if you wanted to do a decent shop you’d surely go to a bigger store anyway.

I think it should be something more like Oconnor shops or
Ainslie. So a smaller independent grocer and a Pub and a couple
of Cafes and restaurants. Inject some life into the place.

niftydog said :

All I’m saying is that a Woolies in that location doesn’t make sense and that makes me suspicious. But if it means something actually gets built on the site that will serve the community, then I’m all for it.

That sums it up. I’m not a fan of Woolies, but I’m less of the fan of the eyesore that the closed shops look like. Its more a question about whether its a monoculture that turns out to be little more than another place to avoid a Woolies queue or something more of benefit to Giralang and nearby suburbs.

All I’m saying is that a Woolies in that location doesn’t make sense and that makes me suspicious. But if it means something actually gets built on the site that will serve the community, then I’m all for it.

Ah, that makes sense, it does appear you wrote the first part.

As for discussion about Charnwood and Kambah Woolworths being a dive – is it any different to supermarkets that go under any other name? Unfortunately, some things will be inferior (such as Fruit and Veg), but everything else? Unless you want/need the convenience, getting such produce from the markets is going to be a better idea anyway.

And Trolleys are going to be scattered in the vicinity of any supermarket that offers them to their customers..

I’ll bet it was.

My guess is the other bit was a cut and paste from [guessing wildly] a Giralang Residents Action Group (GRAG) mailout.

It is the GRAG update, with my comment as an add-on. I live in the area and the last thing I want is a Woolworths. GRAG claim to be reflecting the views of the suburb – but there are alot of people in the suburb who do not want a mass supermarket and dumped trolleys everywhere…It would be nice if they did some community consultation.

>Yuck!!! Who wants another woolies!!!

Does someone want to clarify where this comment came from? It doesn’t read as if it were written by the submitter

> The Woolies in Kambah is pretty bad but not the worst. The only thing I really cant stand about that place is the astonishingly bad fruit and veg.

I would go as far as to say that most of their fruit & veg was not fit to eat. Really, really awful. Woolies at Coolo usually has really good quality by comparison.

The Woolies in Kambah is pretty bad but not the worst. The only thing I really cant stand about that place is the astonishingly bad fruit and veg.
When I need to do a really big shop I usually go to Woden.

Oooh, big evil corporation! Once again, it’s just a matter of letting the market do its thing. Patronise those shops with service and products and prices you like.

I actually ventured into the f&v section of a woolies the other week and laughed out loud at what I saw – and that’s no exaggeration. It reminded me of those plastic f&v displays that my grandmother had in her dinning room. Thank god you can still buy real food elsewhere.

I’ve given up on Kambah completely and now travel the extra couple of km’s to the Supabarn at Wanniassa – better choice, better produce, easier parking and no bogan attitude from the shop assistants.

> I know Charny, and I’m guessing Kambah is kinda awful?

I could not actually believe the state of the fruit & vegies they had there (which is what I was in there to get). Most of it should have been discarded 5 days beforehand.

Clown Killer said :

if you want an example… Kambah Village

threeze said :

Charnwood has a Woolies.

I know Charny, and I’m guessing Kambah is kinda awful?

If Charny and Kambah are dives, then what hope does a Giralang Woolies have given it’s significantly smaller and much less accessible? It just doesn’t seem to add up.

> Kambah Village at the end of the Tuggeranong Parkway

I went to that Woolies last weekend…won’t make that mistake again.

This is good news. That site is currently very dangerous.

Whilst Woolworths would not be my choice, they do have the benefit of creating their own business, rather than relying on just local residents. This is likely to mean the shops will be more viable in the long term.

Supabarn offer a great product. They have high staff numbers so waiting at checkouts is almost never a problem. If you are dragging kids (or worse, babies) along to the shops this is a huge benefit. Even without kids, who wants to wait in a Supermarket checkout queue?

Tetranitrate said :

If woolies can offer cheaper prices then superbarn and take most of their business, good for them.

Given they’re have a reputation as an anti-competitive, morally bankrupt corporation I’m sure they can, regardless of how much it costs them.

Tetranitrate said :

…the death of local shops at the hands of large centers is due in large part to people shopping exclusively at cheaper supermarkets rather then ‘corner stores’.

If a supermarket is not viable in such a location, then I’d be happy if they don’t build one. I’ll have the tavern back, a decent bakery, a newsagent, a take away…

niftydog, if you want an example of what sort of shops you’ll end up with you could do worse than taking the trip to Kambah Village at the end of the Tuggeranong Parkway (better pack a map and a waterbag if you’re coming from Belco).

niftydog, StabwoodCharnwood has a Woolies. It is tiny, poorly laid out, understocked and a pale imitation of the IGA that used to trade there.

niftydog said :

My concern is that the only reason Woolies would be interested in such a small and out-of-the-way site is that they want to bully Supa Barn out of Kaleen and take over their site.

Can anyone name a Woolies in a comparable suburban situation? All the one’s I can think of are at major shopping centres like Belco, Kippax, Charny, Gungahs, Dickson etc.

If by bully you mean compete – sure.
If woolies can offer cheaper prices then superbarn and take most of their business, good for them.

The Superbarn in Kaleen proves that shopping centers are viable in suburban areas and that the death of local shops at the hands of large centers is due in large part to people shopping exclusively at cheaper supermarkets rather then ‘corner stores’.
Suburban Supermakets reflect the best outcome in all of this – local shops with services like newsagents and takeaway can survive and thrive, and people are able to shop conveniently for their groceries.

It sounds a lot better than ending up like the Aranda or Emu Ridge shops.

My concern is that the only reason Woolies would be interested in such a small and out-of-the-way site is that they want to bully Supa Barn out of Kaleen and take over their site.

Can anyone name a Woolies in a comparable suburban situation? All the one’s I can think of are at major shopping centres like Belco, Kippax, Charny, Gungahs, Dickson etc.

Yay! woolies.
I grew up in Giralang and I’m sure a lot of people around here are going to be very happy.
After the old shops were intentionally run down and closed by the owners in order to allow them try and sell the land to developers, this is quite possibly the best possible outcome for the residents of giralang.