THE developers of the West Street shopping centre said they will exercise their right to appeal the council’s decision over the Aldi store location.
City of Busselton councillors voted 5-4 against the Aldi store location at a council meeting last Wednesday after unanimously approving a Kmart discount department at the same site.
The West Street site is currently zoned to accommodate a discount department store but it is not zoned to accommodate a supermarket.
Councillors were concerned a discount department store and discount supermarket at the same location would fragment the city centre and stop people from shopping in the central business district.
Councillor Ross Paine raised the motion against an Aldi store at West Street stating the supermarket would be in a shopping centre which offered nothing for social interaction.
Erceg Management director Allan Erceg who will develop the West Street site said they were not happy with the outcome and had worked closely with city officers over many years to cover areas such as traffic management.
“We liaised closely to ensure we met the right requirements and can deliver both Kmart and Aldi to the town for trading next year,” he said.
Mr Erceg said five council members disregarded the officer recommendations and were misled by Australian Unity which owns the Busselton Central shopping centre.
In November last year, City of Busselton council approved the redevelopment of Busselton Central Shopping Centre to include a multi level car park and outdoor alfresco restaurants to surround Mitchell Park.
“I think Australian Unity Fund in my personal opinion has misled public opinion,” he said.
“They were going to do all sorts of things and failed to deliver and have now checked out our development and forced people and Aldi to go there.
“The officers have agreed with us and worked closely with us, we will not give up.”
Australian Unity or Aldi did not confirm or deny if they had discussions about the Aldi store location in Busselton.
Australian Unity Real Estate Investment property portfolio manager Nikki Panagopoulos said they were pleased the council acknowledged the negative impact of developing a supermarket at West Street would have on retailers in the town centre.
“Looking ahead, Australian Unity’s planned development of the Busselton Central Shopping Centre, which was approved in November 2015, will help to create a vibrant and exciting city centre,” she said.
“We believe this will be an enormous benefit to the city, its community and the central business district retailing.”
An Aldi Australia spokesperson said they were disappointed they weren’t able to bring their store to Busselton at this time and were looking forward to updating the community on its progress.
“Aldi is committed to developing up to 70 stores across the state and can confirm Busselton is an area of interest,” they said.
If Erceg Management appeals the council decision on the Aldi store location with the State Administrative Tribunal, City of Busselton director of finance and corporate services Matthew Smith said it would be difficult to estimate how long the process may take.
“This is dependant on the case put forward and/or the approach taken by the appellant,” he said.
Mr Smith said an appeal could be resolved by mediation which could lead to an outcome in a few months.
“If an appeal is not resolved through mediation and goes to a hearing, then it could take anywhere up to six months or more for a decision to be reached,” he said.
The cost will be dependant upon the direction of the appeal.
“If an appeal is launched, city officers will put together a report to council outlining the options available to the council and the resources required,” he said.
Have your say: What are your thoughts on the location of an Aldi store in Busselton? Email emma.kirk@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
