Ulladulla: Bunnings to only partly pay for new road, roundabout

Shoalhaven Council will ask Bunnings Warehouse to pay for part of a new $4 million road and roundabout in a busy south coast town ahead planned construction of an outlet.

Shoalhaven Council has been told it would risk being taken to court if it demanded Bunnings pay for the entirety of a new road and roundabout ahead of construction of the hardware store at Ulladulla.

The proposed Bunnings Warehouse at 2 Parsons St has been subject to protracted debate, with councillors airing concerns around the impact it will have on traffic and vegetation.

Councillor Liza Butler told the council at its meeting on Monday that as a resident of the area, she was already subject to severe congestion, with work on the site yet to get under way.

“For someone who lives there and drives into work during peak hour every day along that road with 300-plus new developments in the Dolphin Point area, the traffic along there is already banked right back from the roundabout at the McDonald‘s on Parsons St,” she said.

Ms Butler urged the council to consider bringing forward construction of the road and roundabout.

“That will alleviate any impacts during and post the development process,” she said.

“I think it‘s extremely important for the community that that road is built.”

Under planning documents submitted to Shoalhaven Council, construction of the Bunnings would require an extension of St Vincent St to the south and a new roundabout on the Princes Highway.

Planned works on the Princes Hwy, including a new roundabout, and an extension of St Vincent St in Ulladulla are highlighted in yellow.

Under planning documents submitted to the council, building the Bunnings would require an extension of St Vincent St to the south and a new roundabout on the Princes Highway.

The council said the cost of those projects would cost $4 million, with the shire and Bunnings footing the bill.

During Monday’s meeting, councillor Evan Christen debated whether the hardware giant could be asked to pay for the entire project, with management for the roads falling on the council after work was complete.

The council’s development director James Ruprai told councillors that was not possible.

“Legally we cannot require them to pay for all of it,” he said.

“The way that this particular planning agreement has been structured, it relates to the extent or value of work for which we could require.”

Councillor Muriel D’Ath also asked Mr Ruprai if Bunnings would be required to pay for upkeep and maintenance once the road and store were operational.

“It‘s going to be their trucks, their customers, their vehicles. Are they required to just give us a proportion of the upkeep costs of the system that has been built?” Cr D’Ath asked.

Mr Wells replied: “No, we can‘t hold a requirement for a developer to spend money doing something that we would dearly like them to do, and potentially go to court if we tried to do so because we’re talking about being the approving authority.

“It may not go to court, but it may go to another commission.”

Councillor Butler agreed with the director.

“We would go to court and I would rather put that into our existing potholes,” she said.

“If we can get part of the road paid for but council push the rest of it forward, I think that is, at the end of the day, the best outcome for the community.

“But I will acknowledge that from my research, Bunnings did, after tax, have a $2.16 billion profit last year.

“So it is a hard pill to swallow.”

A second development application submitted to the council in January for the other end of Parsons St would see a BCF store and two fast food eateries – a Zambreros and an Oporto – with the latter featuring a drive-through.