By Tania Martin
AN Emerald fish and chip shop owner has lashed out at supermarket giant, Woolworths.
This comes as Woolworths told the Gazette last week it planned to start demolishing the current building at 387 Belgrave-Gembrook Road to make way for its new store.
But Blue Hills Fish Café owner Emmanuel Lambrou said the matter was still before the courts.
The former Foodworks supermarket is set to be knocked down this week, following a three-year wait.
A Woolworths spokesman said it was expected construction would take about 12 months.
This comes after a long battle which saw the development tied up in the courts.
Cardinia Shire Council approved the application in September 2008, putting to an end more than three years of speculation over the project.
But the supermarket was put in limbo following a VCAT appeal and issues raised by an adjacent business, the Blue Hill Fish Cafe.
In August last year, VCAT upheld the council’s approval and granted a permit for the supermarket.
However, the fight didn’t end there.
Mr Lambrou maintained the development would be held up until his lease expired in 2012.
He believed construction could not proceed without cutting into the land he leased for his shop.
In August last year Mr Lambrou told the Mail the supermarket would not proceed until his lease ran out in 2012.
He still maintains that the supermarket would impinge on his lease and is continuing legal proceedings at VCAT.
Mr Lambrou said he wasn’t against the supermarket development but believes the demolition would have an impact on the building he leased.
“They are free to build but I just want to be left alone until my lease finishes,” he said.
But a Woolworths spokesman said they had given Mr Lambrou assurances that the demolition would not have an effect on his business.
The spokesman said the demolition of the current site had nothing to do with the VCAT hearing.
“While there will always be some disruption during a store’s construction, it has always been Woolworths’ aim to be a good neighbour and a welcome addition to the community of Emerald,” he said.
Latest
Call for action as ambulance services continue to be stretched by...
An ambulance crew was subjected to an arduous trip out to Warburton as the sky-high demand for emergency responses and the prevalence of non-emergency...
