MCU14-0056 - Submission

MCU14/0056 – SUBMISSION OF SUPPORT

I wish to strongly support the proposed development by Creekgold P/L.

Cooroy needs this development and needs it now.  It will grow Cooroy to another economic level complementing existing businesses and increasing economic activity in the town.

There will always be a need in the Noosa Shire in particular and the Sunshine Coast generally  for employment opportunities given the over reliance on a very small number of economic drivers all of which at present are cyclical.  This proposal creates a number of entrepreneurial opportunities for new or seasoned operators to create a small business either operating the service station and carwash, the storage business, the fast food restaurant or the “grey nomad” facility.  Each business will require staff, goods and services, no doubt sourced locally, and so a multiplier effect of economic stimulus is created.  This can be nothing but good for the town.

Jobs are the life blood of every economy.  They are absolutely vital to a small community particularly when available close to home. This project promises to create a number of local jobs both in the construction phase but more importantly during the operational life of the facility.  Too often, employment is viewed only as a snapshot in time such as “…there will be 50 jobs created…”  But each of those jobs will experience turnover as, for example, students work in the fast food business while still at school or university and then move on to another career.  Another local will immediately fill this vacancy and thereby another local employee is created sustaining the local economic activity derived from that member of the local community.  In effect, each successive new employee becomes a new source of revenue for the micro-economy of the household to which they belong.  Therefore, the importance of local jobs and their value, both economically and socially, to a small community cannot be overstated.

As a local resident since 2003 having to enter Cooroy by passing this vacant block, the Myall Street land chosen for this proposed development has been and remains an eyesore. In its present state, it has nothing to recommend it other than as a site begging to be improved particularly now as the roadside vegetation to the north has been removed because of the highway upgrade.  As an entrance to Cooroy and to the tourist mecca of Noosa, it presents a very poor image and detracts from the appeal of those destinations.  The proposed development offers a first class opportunity for Tourism Noosa to partner Creekgold in informing otherwise passing visitors to the experiences to be enjoyed in the Noosa area and, thereby, potentially capturing their spend.  The alternative, the status quo, consigns Cooroy to forever have its southern entrance as a mediocre paddock of unkempt weeds in stark contrast to the popular, pristine and expanded golf course opposite and to wonder what might have been.

The proposed development intends to attract its market from the passing trade on the Bruce Highway.  Refueling opportunities are scarce between Caboolture and Gympie and this site offers a good opportunity to capture that unmet market.  However, being sited on the outskirts of Cooroy, its location will act as a natural filter to traffic with only the tourist trade likely to travel into Cooroy or Noosa while refueling-only customers such as heavy vehicles will continue their journey most likely south.  It is a great pity that direct access into the site is not to be available from the highway off-ramp.

Public discussion to date has raised some spurious concerns.  One relates to runoff of fuel and oils into the Lake Macdonald catchment particularly during major rainfall events.  Any new service station is required to meet very high standards to contain any spills and prevent water entering the underground fuel tanks.  If the community is genuinely concerned about such matters, then the existing service stations on the eastern side of Cooroy present a much greater risk in this context than will arise from any new facility given their age and now out-of-date design to meet historic standards and their location in one of the lowest points of the built-up area.  It should be noted that Daddows bowsers were unable to meet current safety standards and had to cease trading in fuel only recently.

A second criticism of the current development proposal is that it is a threat to the livelihood of existing service station operators.  The two BP-supplied servos attract much of their trade from vehicles which are travelling in a southerly direction in Elm Street and then turn left to enter their service stations.  Similarly, the proposed service station will also attract trade from vehicles turning left but which are then travelling in a northerly direction towards the Cooroy CBD.  If this observation is true, the proposed facility is likely to have minimal impact on the clientele of existing service stations as the prime source of their trade is travelling in the opposite direction to that of the proposed new service station.  Anyone wishing to complain about this new venture somehow “pinching their business,” should consider themselves very fortunate to have the level of business they presently enjoy and should be grateful to the Supa IGA and its owners for that largely coming as it does from the trade which the supermarket has created and continues to attract.

However, as a consumer, I will welcome genuine competition into the local fuel market which is excessively priced compared to other suppliers in Noosa and Nambour and where the two existing stations appear not to ever compete on price.  Price competition will be good for Cooroy consumers and will be warmly welcomed as it is long overdue.

A further related aspect is one of safety.  If this is a genuine concern, then the proposed station is to be located on the very edge of Cooroy and will provide a generous safety buffer between it and the retirement village.  In contrast, both of the existing service stations are within residential areas with a motel situated between them.

It is also important for the worth of the proponents to Cooroy and district to be understood.  The owners of Creekgold are a husband and wife team who live and work locally.  They are the joint owners of two IGA-branded supermarkets in Cooroy and Pomona.  They have made their home and raised their two children in the local area.  They are part of the community.  Their businesses employ more than 200 full and part-time staff.  Their supermarket remained as the largest employer in Cooroy when the local sawmill, a major employer, closed down and the then State Government elected to close the local hospital, another major employer.  They built the business up from a minor local supermarket into a Supa-IGA becoming a relatively major business today, certainly for Cooroy.  It has won a number of important awards including state retailer of the year in 2004/2005 and, in the following year, achieved the state, national and international retailer of the year award.  It makes a significant contribution, both financial and in-kind, to local sporting clubs, schools and community organizations.  These include Meals-On-Wheels, special education needs for children through partnering The House With No Steps and, through their community support program, providing significant medical and other support for a local girl facing major life-long challenges – they have a strong social conscience.  They source as much product as possible from local suppliers.  Their business has been most important to the growth and success of Cooroy.  It has increased the consumer catchment for the town, on the back of which, existing businesses have flourished.  This pattern of growth continued with new businesses entering the town thus adding a wider range of goods and services on offer to consumers but also enabling new businesses to enter the local market and compete with existing businesses offering the same services or goods.  Without this stimulus, highly-desirable, value-adding businesses such as Maison de Provence would not have had the passing trade by which to be so successful so quickly.  As a result, Cooroy has become a most useful satellite to Noosa for locals and visitors alike.

Accordingly, I contend that the growth of Cooroy into a self-sustaining commercial and retail environment has been made possible by the growth of the supermarket and the very geographically broad consumer catchment which it has attracted to Cooroy.  In contrast and to add weight to this claim, the sister town of Eumundi has not grown or become self-sustaining in the same time frame despite being home to the world famous Eumundi Markets.  It does not have a supermarket to attract and retain local shoppers, service visiting shoppers or grow the customer base and, thereby, the town.  Unlike Cooroy, Eumundi lacks an anchor tenant in shopping mall terms, a key, local, seven-day-a-week, economic driver and it shows.

These owners are high quality people which Cooroy is fortunate to have as members of its community and who have added a very great deal to its economy and its social well-being.  I have no doubt that this new venture has been well planned to add further value to Cooroy and that it will be exceptionally well run by locals for the benefit of the local community as their track record clearly shows. Profits will stay in the local economy and not be dissipated to shareholders residing in other places.

For all of the foregoing reasons, I urge Council to approve this re-zoning and to allow the next phase of Cooroy’s development to proceed as quickly as possible.  The alternative, the status quo, does not bear consideration as it will send a message to other future investors that Noosa Shire is closed to and shuns good business opportunities specifically designed to “grow the pie.”

Yours sincerely

B L Scanlon
26 Capricorn Court
EUMUNDI  QLD  4562