By Ellie Busby
One mention of the supermarket giant and a tidal wave of angry comments floods the local Facebook page.
“You trying to start a fight?” one user quipped. “Just build the bloody thing,” another wrote. The reason for their ire? A plan for a new Woolworths in Springwood, the second-largest town in the Blue Mountains.
A plan for a new Woolworths in the heart of a Blue Mountains town has divided the community.Credit: Photos: Edwina Pickles, Woolworths / Graphic: Monique Westermann
Five years since the first round of plans was lodged, the proposed supermarket is continuing to split a suburb in two: on one side, critics who fear a major supermarket will increase traffic and put some shops on the main street – including a Lloyds Supa IGA – out of business.
On the other, supporters who believe it will offer more choice to local shoppers, many of whom say they drive to supermarkets in Winmalee or Emu Plains for more variety and affordable groceries.
Nikolai Tinsley, a local who has started a petition in support of the $30 million supermarket, falls into the latter category. He said the site of the proposed store has become an “eyesore” and that a Woolworths would help to revitalise the neglected building.
“It will be replacing an abandoned IGA that [has] been sitting there gathering cobwebs and shards of broken VB bottles for the last nine years or so. I hardly think it will be subtracting much from that,” he said.
“Regarding the size, it needs to be big to service the community. If the size is compromised to fit in with the village ‘charm’ of tobacconists and Bottle-Os, then too much is sacrificed in the way of convenience and product availability.”
The building on Raymond Road, which operated as an IGA until 2016 when it permanently closed, has since fallen into a state of disrepair. Some windows have been boarded up and damage to sections of the roof can be seen.
Woolworths lodged the first round of plans for a new store in 2020, but withdrew the development application two years later, after Blue Mountains City Council said it was “not in a position to recommend approval” to the Sydney Western City Planning Panel, due to unresolved issues.
At the time, a number of concerns were raised in response to the plans, including increased traffic, car and pedestrian access, and its anticipated impact on the streetscape and a heritage building.
At the end of 2024, fresh plans were submitted featuring a range of changes Woolworths said it had made in response to community feedback. They included relocating the loading dock underground; positioning the entry off David Road, away from the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub; redesigning the building’s facade, and conducting heritage works for the adjoining heritage-listed Oriental Hotel.
But some in the community still believe the changes aren’t enough and that the proposal, in its current form, will do more harm than good in the tight-knit Springwood community.
Resilient Blue Mountains, a community-run activist group, published its response to the supermarket chain’s plans on its website, with the words “don’t suffocate Springwood: say no to a supersized Woolworths” written in bold. The group believes a “big Woolworths” will lead to traffic problems and instead suggests reducing the scale of the supermarket.
Signage for the Springwood IGA, which closed in 2016, still remains on the building.Credit: Edwina Pickles
A report commissioned by Blue Mountains City Council – who is not the consent authority – into the urban design of the development said it “still does not adequately demonstrate design excellence”, with the council signalling pedestrian connectivity and integration with the streetscape as among ongoing issues.
However, the report states the proposed supermarket can still benefit the people of Springwood – as long as Woolworths is open to making changes.
“With appropriate modifications, this significant development has the potential to make a substantial positive contribution to Springwood’s town centre and exhibit genuine design excellence,” it said.
Under the latest plans, a 3489-square-metre Woolworths would include direct-to-boot services, a specialty retail store, basement parking for 72 vehicles and rooftop parking for 88 cars. The proposal is now at the assessment stage with the Sydney Western City Planning Panel.
A Woolworths spokesperson said it is continuing to work with the council and the regional planning panel on the plans.
“Our proposal has evolved since first being submitted and takes into account feedback from council and the community,” they said.
“We are committed to the project and believe it will provide multiple local benefits to the community including greater choice and convenience.”
The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.