PlanningAlerts

7 Comments

Create an account or sign in to have your say by adding your own comment.

1. There are already more than enough convenience stores located within close proximity of this location, including a large 7-11 only a few doors away from the proposed location. Combined with the recently increasing number of fast food outlets, the proliferation of convenience stores is having a negative impact on the character of King Street and Newtown.

   There is a definite pattern of transforming King Street to a new Kings Cross, following the lockout restrictions being put in place. The recent rally in favour of 'Keeping Newtown Weird' indicates the resident population of Newtown are already tiring of these changes.

2. There are too many convenience stores through this section of King St already. The area is losing its identity to a swathe of froyo, Thai Massage and junk food stores.

3. I fail to see how yet another convenience store will help the character of King Street. This no offers no benefit to residents or the community as a whole. There are plenty of existing "convenient" alternatives.

4. I have to call out these objections about the opening of a convenience store. This idea that local communities or a governing body should have some sort of veto power where they can pick and choose which businesses they consider 'good' and should be allowed to open and which are not is ridiculous. Whether it is a convenience store or a bookshop or a clothes shop, they are all just ‘shops’. If it is the case that there are far too many convenience stores for the local area than some of them will go out business and be replaced with something else. The Council allows for ‘shops’ along King Street (obviously) and there is no proper reason to treat a proposal to open a convenience store differently to the opening of any other type of shop.

5. I'm with Kye on this.
   Objecting to the use of a shop unit as a convenience store is unfounded.
   There are no planning controls this application infringes.
   There is no evidence of a "proliferation" of convenience stores, no evidence of any negative impact of them, and there are fewer fast food outlets here than there were 9 years ago. There are many restaurants and shops, which has been the case for a very long time in King Street, and which have formed its' character for many years.
   If there were noise, light, odour or other issues that impact on local community enjoyment of the area, I would understand, but someone complying with local planning controls to operate a business of their choice in an area reserved for business has every right to do so.

6. Kye Sanderson & Joe O, I have to disagree with you both. Anyone in the community where they live is completely entitled to object to new developments and new businesses in their community. That's why it's called a community, and if a consensus is reached that a business or development is not in keeping with what the community wants, then it should be denied. I'm sure there are many similar examples e.g. small towns who didn't want fast food chains like McDonalds in their town, and they were stopped before they could even open their doors. We don't have to let any and every business open wherever they like purely because of free market principles. Without any community consultation and consensus, then we're not really a community at all and we have no say in anything outside the walls of our own private homes. I for one have witnessed a change in Newtown in recent years that I attribute to the lock out laws in Kings Cross. We're getting a lot more late night drunken visitors to our suburb, and correspondingly more violence and disturbance to local residents. A proliferation of franchised late night bright light convenience stores appears to me to be an attempt to cash in on and encourage this changing demographic of Newtown, and I for one would rather see new businesses and regulation attempt to reverse this trend, instead of accelerating it. In the last year my wife and I have both felt less safe and less at home than ever before (been here 7 years) walking down King Street on a Friday or Saturday night, having to ignore random comments from drunken patrons crawling to their next venue. It's starting to feel like Darlinghurst or Kings Cross. My kids also don't appreciate being woken up at 3AM by drunks hanging around outside our front door, or running down our street screaming at each other, which again has never happened in our previously extremely quiet out of the way street, which is not even that close to King Street, but is still obviously absorbing some overflow as more late night visitors try to find parking on our streets. Now all that obviously can't be attributed to a single convenience store application, but clearly residents are noticing changes and the growing number of these types of business do appear to be linked. It might be unlucky that this application is late to the party, but if there are already several convenience stores within very close proximity, we should absolutely be considering how much patronage Newtown convenience stores are expecting as late as midnight, 7 days a week. If you want another convenience store, great. Voice your opinion in support of the application. But don't try and tell others who object that they have no right to object to what is happening in their community.

7. Hi Tai
   You have every right to object to whatever you choose, as I have a right to comment your objection breaches no DA controls. I hated the proliferation of group places a few years ago but I had no grounds to expect change. In time most have left because there was no market for it.
   Your most recent comment goes beyond this specific DA by mentioning drunkeness, which convenience stores do not add to and the lockout laws, which had not created convenience store demands. but in response, I'm not against any community consultation, which is why I'm active here, to write to local authorities mainly as this isn't really a discussion forum. You mention consensus, but I should be allowed to disagree with you. A community voice does not guarantee consensus, indeed, in my experience, when a consultation is opened there are many opinions, sometimes conflicting, which is what a community is good at.
   There is a difference between your right to say your piece as much as mine to highlight that your stated issue with a DA breaches no planning controls.
   By all means, say your piece and I will listen quietly to hear what you say. But that's not to be confused with me having the same opinion nor whether your arguments have merit. A convenience store created before the lockout laws isn't "cashing in", nor is one that closes before 3am. Your complaints are connected to the lockout laws, which I completely agree with you on, and am happy to add my voice to yours on a balanced and well rounded nightlife, but the majority of your complaints are not connected to convenience stores as far as I can see.

Have your say on this application

You're too late! The period for officially commenting on this application finished almost 8 years ago. If you chose to comment now, your comment will still be displayed here and be sent to the planning authority but it will not be officially considered by the planning authority.

Your comment and details will be sent to City of Sydney. Your name and comment will be posted publicly above.

Create an account or sign in to make a comment