Stirling Village Woolies plans revealed after huge fire destroyed old building

Plans for a vastly expanded Stirling Village shopping centre have been revealed by the owners, with one huge addition every local is desperate for.

A much larger supermarket and more speciality shops form part of a proposed new Stirling Village shopping centre to replace the older one after it was destroyed by a fire in 2023.

And under new plans submitted to Adelaide Hills Council last month, the new complex would offer one thing most Stirling locals desperately want – more carparking in the form of an underground carpark.

The supermarket itself would be 50 per cent larger, owners Leyton Funds said, while speciality shops would doubled to 14 – and the underground carpark would increase parking spaces from 178 at the old site to 315.

Renders show Woolworths would be the supermarket operator.

Artist impression of a rebuilt Stirling Village, seen from the main street. Picture: NH Architecture

A spokesperson said they hoped to start construction as soon as spring this year, subject to approvals, with the complex hopefully finished and open by autumn 2027.

Stirling Village, which housed a Woolworths, butchers, pharmacy and other speciality shops, was destroyed by a fire in October 2023, over which two teenagers were charged.

Charges were eventually dropped against both teenagers, one on the eve of a trial.

The spokesperson said the company would normally not publicly comment out of respect for the planning assessment process.

Artist impression of a rebuilt Stirling Village, seen from the main street. Picture: NH Architecture

“However, given the long and hard journey we’ve all been on since the fire – our tenants, neighbouring retailers, the wider Stirling community and ourselves as the owners of the property – we think it’s important to share our aspirations to reinstate this essential part of the Adelaide Hills community as quickly as we can,” they said.

“We’re aiming to recreate what made Stirling Village special – but improved in a way that now offers more convenience, substantially more parking and more choice than before while still retaining its intrinsic village feel.

Artist impression of a rebuilt Stirling Village, seen from the main street. Picture: NH Architecture

Artist impression of a rebuilt Stirling Village. Picture: NH Architecture

Locals packed into the Stirling RSL on Thursday afternoon, where the plans were revealed at a community event hosted by Leyton Funds and local MP Josh Teague.

Morgan Britt of Carey Gully was relieved upon seeing concept images of the new village, saying it was “not as atrocious as I’d worried about”.

“A lot of developments, like the other one that’s planned for here (a large apartment block) is just huge and honestly ridiculous,” the 55-year-old said.

Ms Britt said the absence of Stirling Village had changed the local atmosphere and many people now avoided the town - adding she felt “sorry for the local traders” who had lost customers.

Her sentiments about the new village were shared by Stirling couple Helen and Vince Monterola, in their 80s, who said it looked like it would “suit the area, suit the village style” and it was “not too over the top”.

Locals packed into the Stirling RSL to see the plans on Thursday afternoon. Picture: Darren Chaitman

Stirling CFS lieutenant Michael Vickery, who was part of the first crew to respond to the fire, said the village has been “absolutely missed”.

The 51-year-old recalled the fire had been “unlike anything we’d seen before, being of that scale and that level of fire development, so we just had to upscale everything very quickly”.

Leyton Funds said they used the “challenging” slope of the land to create space for a full-line supermarket on a footprint almost 50 per cent larger than before – 3850 sqm versus 2600 sqm.

With more speciality shops and the underground carpark with direct access, they said they aimed to create an “exceptional shopping experience”.

Two 14-year-old boys from Bridgewater and Heathfield were charged with arson over the blaze, which had caused shoppers to flee for their lives and left more than $25m of damage.

Charges against the Bridgewater teenager were dropped last year. In December, charges were also dropped against his co-accused on the eve of a trial.

Originally published as Stirling Village Woolies plans revealed after huge fire destroyed old building