By ALENA HIGGINS
LESS than a month after the development application was lodged, plans for a $40 million expansion of Rose City Shoppingworld have passed through council.
The project will see the site in the heart of Warwick increase in size by 3456 square metres, or about 20 per cent and include provisions for a new full line Coles supermarket and an expansion to the existing Big W.
A new pedestrian entry-point will also be built on the corner of Palmerin and Fitzroy streets as well as an underground car park access ramp along Fitzroy Street.
Councillors went against protocol and called a special meeting last Friday where they gave the application the nod with 56 conditions.
It is understood the meeting was held due to the considerable public interest in the development as council officers would normally have delegated authority.
This drew grumbles from a number of councilors including Cr Denise Ingram, who pointed out the Stanthorpe Aldi development and expansion of Woolworths did not go before council.
While the overall approval was granted, car parking and the Fitzroy Street facade will still have to be nutted out, with council rejecting the developer’s assertion that an additional 108 car parking spaces would suffice.
To make up the shorfall, council will request the developer extend the Acacia Avenue car park by 44 spaces to satisfy the car parking and loading code, however the developer can re-negotiate this target.
Cr Mackenzie suggested there was some merit in requiring the applicant to further increase the car spacing levy to compensate for the loss of “seven valuable kerb-side car spaces in Fitzroy Street where the new vehicular ramp will provide underground access to the development”.
The blank wall along Fitzroy Street will also be discussed further, with a more intricate plan required to go to council for approval.
While the current elevation includes windows towards the Palmerin Street corner and an outdoor seating area, a large section of unbroken wall remains, fuelling after-hours safety concerns.
However, these were mostly allayed after planning and environment director Ken Harris drew councillors’ attention to the condition stipulating the developer pay for a council-authorised contractor to install CCTV cameras to ensure the surveillance coverage of the footpath area under the awnings.
Mr Harris said the expansion was a major economic coup for the city and an important planning outcome.
“The developer has done a very good job and we are just working through a few minor issues which is normal,” he said.
“This will bring the two parts of the CBD closer together.”
Construction of the centre is expected to begin in 2015 and take more than a year to complete.
