A beloved grocery has sold fruit and veg for nearly 100 years. Now Woolies has come knocking
It’s said you can’t choose your neighbours, but Brendan Schroeder would have accepted almost anything over the Woolworths to be built right next door to his IGA.
Schroeder and his wife, Jackie, own a long-standing West Footscray store thought to have first opened in the 1930s. They have preserved the landmark over their seven-year stewardship as one of the few independent supermarkets in Melbourne to maintain close community ties.
Jackie and Brendan Schroeder, owners of the IGA in Barkly Street, West Footscray. Credit: Joe Armao
The Barkly Street store was one of the last standing of the Sims supermarket chain that was once common in Melbourne’s west, and it is still affectionately referred to as “Sims” by locals and the business itself.
Schroeder now fears that a recent decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal may mean the end of the store.
The tribunal granted a planning permit this month for a Woolworths development next door to the Barkly Street IGA, despite the project having been strongly opposed by Maribyrnong City Council, traders and residents concerned about the impact on local businesses, road safety and a lack of housing.
The council received 184 objections during a public notification period in 2023 and 15 letters of support. The proposal is for a two-storey centre with a major supermarket, nearly 300 basement car parks, a gym, a medical centre, office space and childcare.
An artist’s impression of the planned Woolworths development.
Woolworths took its planning application to VCAT after Maribyrnong Council’s timeframe to make a decision lapsed. The council later told the tribunal that it would have refused a permit.
Tribunal members Shiran Wickramasinghe and Peter Cole said in their judgment that the development could lead to the IGA closing, but this did not make the proposal unacceptable.
“If that happens, the community will not be left without a supermarket to service their needs,” they wrote.
Schroeder, who sat with his wife through each of the 16 days of hearings in 2023 and 2024, said the approval was extremely disappointing.
The IGA store employs about 100 staff and underwent a $4 million top-to-bottom renovation five years ago.
Schroeder said while the business had much community support, bolstered by partnerships with sport clubs and an op shop as well as grocery handouts during pandemic lockdowns, he was unsure whether it would be enough to survive.
“You couldn’t put the [Woolworths] closer to where we are. We will be up against it,” he said. “We’ll try to embed ourselves further in the community to withstand the onslaught. A supermarket that big, it’s just David and Goliath to be honest.”
In 2016, a once-thriving IGA in Seville, east of Melbourne, was forced to close two years after Woolworths set up shop just across the Warburton Highway.
West Footscray local Pierre Vairo, who spoke against the planned development at VCAT, conceded that some residents were excited by the prospect of a Woolworths but said the IGA was beloved in the community.
“It’s about the potential death of an absolute institution. I can buy everything that I need from this one local place,” Vairo said. “I hate the idea of losing that and it being replaced with just a generic ‘Coles-worth’.”
A major Woolworths development next to West Footscray’s existing IGA has been approved at VCAT. Credit: Joe Armao
Pradeep Tiwari is now Maribyrnong mayor but appeared at VCAT as then-president of the West Footscray Traders Association. He accused Woolworths of being “big bullies” and he didn’t doubt the development would have a major impact on the IGA.
“People will be unhappy about losing an icon. What they do there is not just a supermarket; they’re part of the community,” Tiwari said. “I find it really difficult to see how they would survive.”
The fight in West Footscray differs from what has recently played out in Elsternwick, where locals are rallying against a Woolworths plan to build a supermarket with three apartment towers.
Tiwari said his biggest concern was the total lack of housing in Woolworths’ plan for its Barkly Street site, given the dire need for more homes. He pointed out that previously approved permits on the same land would have delivered dozens of new homes.
Sims Supermarket pictured in 2008.Credit: Jason South
He also said the development, about a five-minute walk from the Barkly Village shops, was designed with basement parking to lure consumers into the shopping centre.
“It’s convenient. People previously might have parked at IGA’s [outdoor parking] then walked down to the village.”
The tribunal members agreed that some residential use could have been a better outcome and that nearby businesses would be affected, but found this was not enough to warrant rejecting the application.
Tiwari said the reasons used to approve Woolworths’ proposal were disappointing and there were already ample supermarkets in the area.
“It was just very shocking. I certainly didn’t think that they [Woolworths] would get just everything as they wanted,” he said.
City of Maribyrnong chief executive Celia Haddock said the council opposed the Woolworths development because it lacked housing, harmed local businesses and raised safety risks from increased car and truck traffic and too much parking.
“[The council] retains concerns about the impact on local residents and businesses,” she said. “We will work closely with Woolworths to ensure traffic management and safety concerns are addressed as part of the development.”
A Woolworths spokesman said the company was excited to deliver a high-quality development following the approval of its planning permit.
“We believe our plans will contribute positively to the Footscray area, creating more than 150 new jobs and providing a wider range of fresh produce, grocery and household items for the community,” he said.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.