Woolworths and refurbished Oriental Hotel planned for Springwood

A proposal to bring a new ‘market-style’ shopping centre will bring 200 jobs and more carparking to the Blue Mountains if approved.

A $25 million plan to bring a ‘market-style’ Woolworths and carparking is expected to bring a jobs bonanza to the Blue Mountains.

Local landowners, the Wayne family, in partnership with Woolworths, have lodged plans with Blue Mountains Council, to create a new supermarket in Springwood.

The plans boast a new Woolworths, a specialty store, alterations to the Oriental Hotel and more than 200 car spaces, which includes both rooftop and basement parking.

The new supermarket will be located on 8-10 Raymond Road, which is where IGA used to be.

Plans for the new Woolworths are being made for the old IGA on 8-10 Raymond Road.

If approved, the development would create more than 100 permanent jobs in Springwood, together with 100 jobs during the construction stage, and will be independently rated by the Green Building Council of Australia, with a range of sustainability initiatives.

Springwood Chamber of Commerce president Mark Barton said: “As far as the retail shopping trip, it‘ll make weekend trading more viable for the Springwood shopping strip.”

One of the more appealing aspects of the project, is the parking spaces, he said.

“This facility will bring 120 car spaces to a centre that is crying out for more parking at no extra cost to the ratepayer and, all in all, it will give locals more options when it comes to shopping,” he said.

Woolworths Regional Development Manager Nathan Dundovic, pictured far right, at the opening of a new Woolworths.

“The idea that suddenly the Springwood area will have an increase in traffic because there‘s a supermarket is not very likely due to local population growth remaining stagnant. There are concerns about traffic and noise but, with a satisfactory solution to those problems, the Chamber of Commerce would of course welcome a multimillion dollar project.”

The Oriental Hotel in Springwood is set to undergo modifications as part of the Woolworth's project.

Woolworths regional development manager Nathan Dundovic said the supermarket giant has been working closely with the community and are moulding their plans accordingly.

“We’ve been working closely with the Blue Mountains Council and listening to the community feedback we’ve received over the past 12 months and we are currently revising our plans for our proposal at Springwood,” he said.

“We remain excited about the opportunity to bring a convenient and modern supermarket to the area, and sharing exciting plans to enhance the character of the vibrant Oriental Hotel on Springwood’s main street.”

Woolworths will be sharing its updated plans with the community in the coming weeks, including meeting with community representatives via an online webinar.