Residents up in arms against proposal for Dan Murphy’s bottle shop Bellerive

Eastern Shore residents are up in arms against a major national alcohol retailer’s planned move into an affluent suburb, saying there are already plenty of bottle shops in the area. Details >>

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A GROUP of Bellerive residents have urged Clarence aldermen not to approve a plan for a Dan Murphy’s outlet in the suburb, raising concerns about traffic and saying the area already has enough bottle shops.

Earlier this month, developers lodged plans with Clarence City Council to transform the building at 10 Percy St — which until 12 months ago was home to an indoor sports centre — into a liquor store that would be open seven days a week from 8am-10pm.

The development proposal is being advertised for public comment which closes today and among those lodging objections in writing is Dean Young, who lives nearby.

“I go up and down Percy St pretty regularly and it’s not a very good street to travel at the best of times,’’ he said.

“If you throw in Dan Murphy’s it will bring more traffic to the area, and if you want to go towards Shoreline, it’s hard to turn right (onto Clarence St) at the best of times as well.

“Then, heaven help us if there’s something on at Bellerive Oval.”

While traffic is his main concern, Mr Young also questioned if the area needed another bottle shop.

Bellerive resident Dean Young out the front of the proposed site for the Dan Murphy's on Percy St. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“There’s two bottle shops at Eastlands, another one down at the Waterfront Hotel, the Shoreline Hotel is not too far away, and Salamanca Fresh also have Tassie alcohol. It’s not like we’re starved for choice in Bellerive,’’ he said.

Another resident, Eris Gino, who lives adjacent to the site in question, said she didn’t know how the area could cope with an influx in traffic.

Mrs Gino, a mother-of-four, said she was also worried about the impact on the streetscape from the new building and planned signage.

She suggested Cambridge Park could be a better location for the outlet.

If it is approved by council, the cost of the development was estimated at between $2 million and $2.5 million, plans revealed.

The bottle shop would take up about 1400 square metres of the 2090 square metres the building occupies but the report did not specify plans for the remaining space.

If the development passes council and proceeds, the store will be the retailer’s third in Tasmania, with existing outlets in New Town and Launceston.

There are only two other Tasmanian Dan Murphy’s locations.

The report suggested the proposal would bring an increase in shoppers to the area, and improve the appearance of the existing building facade facing Percy St.

Action Indoor Sports had been a hub for social sporting rosters at the site for more than two decades, with indoor cricket, soccer, netball, and dodge ball among the centre’s offerings for children and adults.

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