Woolies revising project timeline

WOOLWORTHS is reconsidering its construction timing for a new shopping centre on Gordonvale’s outskirts that only gained approval after a long and expensive legal battle with Cairns Regional Council.

Signboards spruiking the development at the corner of Draper Rd and the Bruce Highway were taken down in late November, sparking speculation the proposal to build the supermarket, service station, nine retail stores and a fast-food restaurant had been put on ice.

A Woolworths spokeswoman yesterday told the Cairns Post the supermarket giant remained committed to bringing “a new retail experience to local Cairns residents in the future”.

“Woolworths is currently reviewing its development timeline for the Gordonvale site,” she said.

The saga began in 2010 when the council voted down the development, leading to a Planning and Environment Court appeal that eventually succeeded in 2013 on the grounds that sufficient community need existed.

The formality of ticking off the development did not occur until 2015, at which stage Division 1’s Cr Brett Moller predicted the company would stall construction for as long as it could.

The council opposed the project due to its location on the opposite side of the highway to the Gordonvale CBD – and it has its own plan to bring focus back to the town centre.

With the State Government also moving its Gordonvale fire and police stations to the fringes, Cr Moller said the council had asked for permission to combine their vacated sites into a land parcel ripe for “commercial activation”.

“We’re keen to ensure that the parcel remains in globe – in one whole piece,” he said.

Woolworths’ current approvals expire in November next year. The company has also lodged plans to build a 4350sq m shopping centre at Trinity Beach.