Shops will survive Sharks and brick pit developments, according to study
BY MURRAY TREMBATH
11 Jul, 2012 04:00 AM
NEIGHBOURING shopping centres would cope despite losing up to 14 per cent of their trade to two new retail complexes proposed for Sutherland Shire, independent studies have found.
The studies concluded centres around the Cronulla Sharks site were trading well and were unlikely to be affected, while the viability of those affected by the Kirrawee brick pit proposal was also unlikely to be threatened.
Furthermore,
there was such an undersupply of supermarket floor space in the shire that the two developments would not even meet the existing demand requirements.
The study of the Sharks' proposal said 500 jobs would be directly created as part of the operation of a new retail centre.
As for adjoining centres, Taren Point would be the hardest hit with a 14 per cent loss of trade, followed by Caringbah (12 per cent), Woolooware (10 per cent) and other centres, including Cronulla, (5 per cent or less).
The brick pit project study said that Kirrawee shopping strip would suffer a 14 per cent loss of trade, Kareela 10.9 per cent, Sutherland 8.3 per cent and Gymea 6.1 per cent.
'Wait until it rains'
Ron Stapleton of Stapleton's Meats, Gymea, believes the impact on their shopping strip will be far greater than forecast by the study.
"It won't affect us much because we have an established clientele and no one can match what we do, but I think half the other Gymea shops could close if the brick pit development goes ahead," he said.
The biggest impact would be seen in bad weather.
''If you have two weeks of rain, you will see a 40 per cent drop in trade because people prefer to park under cover,'' he said.
http://www.theleader.com.au/news/lo...-developments-according-to-study/2619691.aspx
