Awapuni residents ready for big store
"I could actually walk to get my groceries, which has got to be good for me, instead of getting in the car." Crellin Bowen
Residents of a Palmerston North suburb are welcoming the prospect of a new Countdown supermarket, but there’s no word yet on when it will be built.
An Awapuni shopping centre, anchored by the city’s fifth Countdown, has got the go-ahead after two years of back and forth between Palmerston North City Council and Progressive Enterprises over the design and layout.
Countdown general manager for property Adrian Walker said it was too early to say when construction would begin, or when the supermarket was likely to open.
Slacks Rd resident Jan Schrama said she’d lived in the suburb for 50 years, and it was about time the area got its own supermarket.
‘‘We’ve never had one here in Awapuni before. We’ve had to rely on the dairies.’’
Crellin Bowen was looking forward to the development replacing an unsightly empty lot.
‘‘I could actually walk to get my groceries, which has got to be good for me, instead of getting in the car.
‘‘The only thing I feel bad about is for those poor people at the [Maxwells Line] dairy. They’re lovely people, so I’ll still try to go there for a few things.’’
Doreen Bell lives right next door to the development and can’t wait for the new Countdown to open. ‘‘I go to Pak‘n Save at the moment, [but] it’s a long way when you need something in a hurry.’’ Progressive Enterprises and the council reached an agreement on Tuesday outside an Environment Court hearing of Progressive’s appeal against a commissioners’ decision denying resource consents.
Palmerston North developer Brian Green has been critical of the council’s approach to the Countdown development, calling it counterproductive.
While the development got the green light eventually, the long process damaged Palmerston North’s reputation with developers, he said.
‘‘It’s just silly when there’s 100 jobs on offer and it’s something that cleans up that whole site. [The site] could’ve sat there empty for another 10 years, easy.’’
It was important for Palmerston North’s economic growth to encourage and nurture businesses wanting to come to the city, he said. ‘‘We need to roll out the red carpet, not the red tape.’’