Shops on show

By Melissa Donchi
A CAMPAIGN to redevelop a large site in the Seville township has gathered momentum after developers unveiled their vision for a new commercial precinct in the town.
The Pace family presented three concept plans at a community information afternoon in December to gather feedback and comment on the commercial development, which includes a supermarket.
The proposed development would use land now occupied by the Shell service station and four speciality shops, together with a large area of vacant land that extends to Britton Road to the north and Wandin Yallock Creek to the east.
Project spokesman Robert Pace said more than 350 curious residents had come to review the three development options, and he said many had completed feedback forms saying the project would be good for the town.
Of the three options, the most popular includes several speciality shops, a medical centre, a service station, car wash and supermarket.
Yarra Junction resident Chris Muholland, who works in Seville, thinks the first concept plan is a great idea.
“I moved from the city to Yarra Junction, even though my work was in Seville, because my wife refused to live and bring our children up in a ghost town,” he said.
“At the moment there is just one expensive IGA that holds a monopoly on the highway in Seville and anyone else who is seeking better prices has to go elsewhere.”
“And judging by the empty streets that is exactly what people are doing,” Mr Muholland said.
President of the Warburton Highway Retailers Association and owner of the IGA Supermarket in Seville, Shane Wyles doesn’t think there is room for two supermarkets in the town.
“I attended the meeting and viewed the three separate plans, all of which included a significant supermarket and gave people no other option for the site,” Mr Wyles said.
“We’re more than happy for that block of land to be developed for something which is sustainable for the communities along the highway.
“Our main bone of contention is just the size of the supermarket,” Mr Wyles said.
“While we don’t speak for the people of Seville, I would have to question the need for another supermarket when there is one just across the road.”
But Mr Pace said the majority of opposition to his proposal was from self-interested retailers and not from the wider community.
“We are long-time residents of the area and we have their interests at heart,” Mr Pace said.
The Seville development proposal gained publicity after the Warburton Retail Traders Association presented a petition with more than 2000 signatures calling for the Shire of Yarra Ranges to reject a major supermarket, which was part of the proposed development.
But Mr Pace has accused the retailers of jumping the gun, describing their opposition as “premature” as no detailed proposals has been determined.
“Nothing has been determined at this stage as we are still in the process of consulting the community,” Mr Pace said.
The three concept plans have been posted up in the Shell service station and the takeaway food shop on the Warburton Highway to allow residents who did not attend the community information session to have an opportunity to comment.
Another community information session will be held in February after which a formal submission will be made to the council.
Mr Wyles said he and the rest of the Warburton Highway Retail Association would wait to see the final proposal before they recommence their campaign.
“An appropriate course of action will be taken once we see the plan that Mr Pace decides to put forward to the council,” Mr Wyles said.