MCU14/0106 Appendix J - Retail Needs Assessment

The economic benefits associated with the Noosa Civic expansion that would arise from the reduction in
trip numbers to centres outside of the trade area can now be quantified. Firstly, however, we have
calculated the average distance of each trip to the designated escape expenditure destinations and the
time required for the trip. This methodology is outlined below:

      The centroid of each SA1 within the main trade area was used as a starting point to calculate both the
       drive time and distance to Noosa Civic, as well as surrounding competitive centres. The SA1
       geography is designed to enumerate similar populations (i.e. there are between 200 and 800 persons
       within an SA1) and therefore the centroid within a trade area sector will also reflect population
       density.

      Drive time analysis using the current road network was undertaken to determine the distance
       between each SA1 centroid within each trade area sector and each escape spending destination. The
       route times and distances were then averaged, by trade area sector, to represent typical drive times
       and distances for the population within that sector. This was repeated for each competitive retail
       location as well Noosa Civic for comparison purposes.

      Where the escape spending shopping destination was not a specific location (e.g. ‘Rest of Sunshine
       Coast’ and ‘Rest of Brisbane/Gold Coast’), a central point in the wider area was selected as the
       destination.

      The net change (savings or cost) in round trip travel distance and time between the forecast shopping
       patterns under Case 1 and Case 2 were calculated to determine the total travel savings. A matrix of
       the one way drive distance and travel time are shown in Appendix G. These numbers are then
       multiplied by two to get the round trip travel times and distances.

      Where the spending at a specific suburb was able to be specified (i.e. Maroochydore, Nambour and
       Brisbane CBD, Rest of Brisbane/Gold Coast), travel time and distances were recorded from the
       centroid of each trade area sector. Where this was not possible (e.g. Buddina, Caloundra, Rest of
       Sunshine Coast, Chermside), travel time and distances were recorded from the centroid of the main
       trade area.


9.3           CONSUMER BENEFITS

9.3.1         USER TIME SAVINGS
The reduced escape spending will benefit consumers in terms of time savings. Valuing consumers’ time
is complex but the widely accepted approach is to use the average hourly wage. The ABS reports total
                                                                    9
average hourly earnings per person in Queensland in 2014 as $28.95 .

The value of time savings in 2018 for Noosa Civic trade area residents is forecast to be between
$2.9 million and $11.5 million, as shown in Table 9.3 below.


User Time Savings
NOOSA CIVIC EXPANSION, 2018 ($2014)                                                                                     TABLE 9.3
                                                            Unit               Low Bound                 High Bound
Total trips diverted                           (1)          (no.)                   83,250                    333,000
Time saved                                     (2)          (hours)                 98,900                    395,600
Average wage                                   (3)          ($/hour)                 28.95                      28.95
Value of time savings               (2) x (3) = (4)         ($)                  2,862,900                11,451,600
1. Figures have been rounded.
Source : ABS ; Urbis




9
    Australian Bureau of Statistics (May 2014) cat. 6302.0, “Average Weekly Earnings, Australia”, Table 12C Average Weekly
    Earnings, Queensland.




128        TRAVEL, TIME AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
                                                                                                                                     URBIS
                                                                              NOOSA CIVIC - RETAIL NEEDS ASSESSMENT DEC 2014 MASTER - FINAL