Attachment 7- Economic Impact Statement

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Trading effects



7.1 Introduction   This chapter examines the potential competitive trading effects that may arise from the
                   proposed Noosa Civic Village development once operational, as well as the cumulative
                   impacts that may occur when combined with the Stage 2 Retail application.
                   Trading effects occur as a result of the redistribution of spending from existing centres to
                   new retail developments once they open, and are relevant only insofar as they lead to
                   significant sales impacts such that businesses close and/or the performance of
                   competing centres leads to a loss of services for the local community. In the absence of
                   any significant diminution in the role and performance of existing centres, competitive
                   impacts are not usually a legitimate basis for withholding planning approval.

                   Trading effects are examined by comparing the sales achieved at competing centres in
                   2027 following construction of Noosa Civic Village against an estimate of sales
                   performance in 2022 (reflecting the date of floorspace surveys), and against the sales that
                   would otherwise have been achieved in 2027 in the absence of the proposed
                   development. Given potential sales uplifts since 2022, these impacts would be lower in
                   percentage terms if calculated using 2023 as a base year.

                   Effects are calculated in dollar terms and as a percentage impact, noting that the
                   significance of any loss in sales is also related to the underlying performance of each
                   centres. For example, centres that already achieve very high sales averages (ie can be
                   considered ‘over-trading’) are able to withstand a larger loss of sales without the risk of
                   business closure. This is shown to be the case in the supermarket sector (refer Table 10).

                   Typically, centre-level impacts up to a 10-15% loss of sales are considered to be within the
                   bounds of normal competition, while impacts greater than 15% warrant further attention
                   as to their effect on the performance of the centre in question, recognising – as stated
                   above – that high-trading centres can withstand larger impacts than those achieving
                   ‘standard’ sales performance.
                   Noosa Village Mixed Use Development – Economic Impact Statement for Development Application   Deep End Services