With your support, together we can make a Supermarket in Eumundi a reality. It’s been a long time coming. Here are actions you can take to both have your voice heard, and contribute to making the supermarket happen at the southern entrance to Eumundi, on the site of the Old Strawberry Farm.
Eumundi Village Supermarket
What you can do to help make it happen
Do this first:
Click here to take the Eumundi Supermarket Survey
Then do this:
Email your local Councillor your thoughts
Send an email to your local Councillor with your opinion on the proposed Eumundi Supermarket at the Southern Entrance to Eumundi on the site of the Old Strawberry Farm. Council have received 156 letters of support so far, and counting. Let’s send them more! Every letter helps. You can email as many Councillors as you like. Email one of the following Councillors, or email them all!
Remember to mention the location of the Supermarket in your email. You can say “Southern Entrance to Eumundi”, or “The site of the Old Strawberry Farm”.
The public email addresses of your local Councillors are listed below:
Mayor Mark Jamieson
mail@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Deputy Mayor Rick Baberowski
rick.baberowski@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Winston Johnston
winston.johnston@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Terry Landsberg
terry.landsberg@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Ted Hungerford
ted.hungerford@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Peter Cox
peter.cox@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Maria Suarez
maria.suarez@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Joe Natoli
joe.natoli@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Jason O’Pray
jason.opray@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr David Law
david.law@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Cr Christian Dickson
christian.dickson@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
More about the Supermarket Project
Altum Property Group have lodged a Material Change of Use application with Sunshine Coast Council to develop an architecturally designed supermarket and specialty stores on a 9,915m2 site at 10 Memorial Drive Eumundi.
The site’s location at the southern entrance to Eumundi (out of the town centre), ensures that residents can access convenience goods without the congestion that sometimes arises within Eumundi due to visitors to the Eumundi markets and other services offered within the township.
The site includes an approved service station development which covers over 4,293 square metres while the remainder of the development includes a 1,472 square metre retail centre, consisting of a 1,200 square metre limited
line supermarket and 272 square metres of specialty retail as well as 76 car spaces.
The proposed supermarket and specialty stores are expected to service the Eumundi community and draw trade from Eerwah Vale, Verrierdale, North Arm and Belli Park residents looking to avoid travelling outside of the Eumundi
Catchment to collect groceries.
About the Developers
Alex Rigby
Development Director
Rob McCready
Construction Director
Altum Property Group was founded in 2007 by long term Sunshine Coast locals Rob McCready and Alex Rigby. Over the years the pair have created some of the region’s leading and sustainable residential and commercial developments including Parkridge Noosa which won National Best Project in the Australian Institute of Horticulture Green Space Urban award.
Rob and Alex are true Sunshine Coast locals, Rob grew up in Woombye and now lives with his wife Leigh McCready in Verrierdale, together with their four children, dog, chickens and guinea fowls while fellow director Alex Rigby grew up at Marcus Beach (5mins north of Peregian).
Alex has watched how the local corner store at Peregian has progressed over the last 40 years to become an important asset for the local community. “It’s fair to say the store struggled initially, then as more people moved to the area and their needs expanded, it could no longer cope. The Whites IGA was added to Peregian in 2016 and it’s been a huge success, the design reflects the beautiful coastal environment and is now seen as essential infrastructure for the Peregian Beach catchment and a significant employer of younger people in the area,” Alex said.
Rob recalls his time growing up in Woombye and knows how much everyone loved it when Bob Wade’s little corner store expanded into an IGA in the 1980’s.
“Locals no longer had to drive to Nambour for their supermarket shopping but Woombye still maintained its quaint village character. I love to reminisce about growing up in Woombye in the 1980’s and over the years I have developed a real soft spot for some of the Sunshine Coast’s quaint, beautiful and vibrant rural towns. Eumundi is one of the best but for a long time the community has been lacking a village scale supermarket so they don’t have to travel more than 11km away to Cooroy, Peregian or Noosa for their shopping needs. We want the design of this project to reflect the village nature of Eumundi and be a natural entry statement to the town while also complimenting the existing service offering within the town. We have no firm views of what other specialty stores may become part of this project so part of our engagement program will involve listening to local residents about what retail offerings they would like to see,” Rob said.
Project Aims / Benefits
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Investment in the Eumundi Township.
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Improved convenience for people living in the Eumundi Catchment. Currently, the closest limited line supermarket and specialty retail is located approximately 11.7 kilometres away from the subject site. Currently residents of the Eumundi area need to travel to either Yandina, Cooroy or Noosa to access supermarket facilities.
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This proposal will provide more affordable groceries and fuel than what is currently being offered in Eumundi.
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The proposed development will generate additional local employment opportunities with the construction costs anticipated to be in the order of $4 million over a twelve-month build while the operation of the supermarket and retail stores would generate employment demand of approximately 44 direct employment opportunities and 10-12 indirect employment opportunities.
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The proposed design and location is sympathetic and compatible to the existing character of Eumundi while also offering substantial positive community benefits to local residents as well as the wider community.
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Green initiatives include:
i. Solar power to create more green energy for both the service station and the supermarket.
ii. Adding shade to carpark via a mix of shade trees and shade structures to reduce the heat load.
iii. Water tanks
iv. Acoustic Fencing along Memorial Drive
v. Vegetation Screenings
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The Supermarket will consist of 76 car parks including 1 disabled space, 10 motor bike spaces, and 12 bicycle spaces.
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The entire development including the approved Service Station will consist of 92 car parks, 12 motorbikes and 15 bicycle parks between both the service station and the supermarket.
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Improved footpath network from the supermarket along Memorial Drive.
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The site’s location out of the town centre ensures that residents can access convenience goods without the congestion that sometimes arises within Eumundi due to visitors to the Eumundi markets and other services offered within the township.
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The convenience of being able to purchase groceries within the Eumundi catchment will increase patronage for business located in Eumundi.
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Substantial landscaping is provided to the street frontages, which will assist in softening the development and contribute to the entry statement into town.
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There is growth in the expenditure base of sufficient scale to accommodate the proposed development without unreasonable impacts on existing centres. Additionally, market share analysis indicates the centre performance would be consistent with benchmark trading levels. Hence, there is both strong demand and economic need for the proposed development.
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The provision of the proposed development at the subject site would provide choice, convenience, and competition to residents of the main trade area without having negative consequences on the surrounding centres network. In the absence of an alternative appropriately zoned site, the proposed development meets the standard for economic, community and planning need.
Timeline
Council vote for approval 26 October 2023
Economic Need Site Analysis
An analysis of other suitably zoned sites were included in the Economic Needs Report completed by Bull + Bear.
As discussed in the report, the development requires a site of at least 5000m2 of largely unconstrained land to be appropriately accommodated. The review of the centre zoned land within the Eumundi township indicates there is no single site of necessary scale. This analysis identifies that even with lot assembly there are no sites or collections of sites that are sufficiently large enough to accommodate the proposed development.
Upon review of potentially undeveloped sites, we found that a few of the properties had a significant grade change across both the length and breadth of these sites which would make delivery of a retail development infeasible. Additionally, the properties are owned by different parties, one of which has held the property for over 20 years. This length of tenure typically indicates that land consolidation would be extremely difficult. Other sites that were looked at were too small for the proposed development and would provide any development with limited frontage
to Memorial Drive.
The Economic Report concludes that the sequential site analysis demonstrates that there is insufficient developable land within the Eumundi Local Centre to accommodate the proposed development. The subject site represents the
most suitable site for the proposed development given the lack of alternative centre zoned sites available; the flat and largely unconstrained nature of the site; the location of the site at the entry to the town centre with convenient site access: and the ability of the site to achieve delivery of a supermarket without impact to Eumundi’s town centre heritage character.
Visual Impact Assessment
Further consideration of building materials, facade treatment and design outcome having regard to the “Eumundi” style of Queensland built form has been undertaken and is reflected in the proposal plans. The proposal comprises materials that are generally consistent with the Eumundi context including a mix of horizontal and vertical textures.
Preferred materials include:
i. horizontal weatherboards texture both formed and applied
ii. vertical corrugated iron
iii. large shopfront glazing
iv. simple geometric forms symbolic of regional federation style
These materials are reflected in the design plans and which also result in a reduction in height of some built form components.
The Landscape Character and Visual Impact Assessment Report describes and analyses the existing landscape character and visual qualities of the site and surrounds; identifies locations which may be subject to landscape character or visual impacts caused by the proposed development; identifies the potential landscape character and visual impacts of the proposed development; describes the mitigated landscape character and visual impacts of the proposed development; and provides an assessment of the proposed development’s (with recommended mitigations) ability to address Performance Outcome(s) PO1 of the Scenic amenity overlay code, PO3 of the Eumundi local plan code including (Purpose and overall outcomes) (b) and (i) and Overall outcomes (l) and (n) of the Rural zone code.
The report concludes that the development and associated landscaping inclusive of a 6m wide landscape buffer is assessed as having a low-medium visual impact following completion of construction. This visual impact is assessed as dropping to low following establishment of the 6m wide landscape screening buffer. Inclusion of some semi-advanced trees in the initial landscape buffer planting is suggested to further soften the initial low to medium visual impact. Locating these trees on the outside of the buffer will contribute to the arrival streetscape character to the township of Eumundi. The adoption of architectural embellishments, articulation, materials and colour palette that are provided in the Proposal Plans is recommended to reduce the visual impact of the built form and provide a visual connection to the local character of the township. The proposed development with adoption of the included and recommended mitigation measures complies with the requirements of Performance Outcome(s) PO1 of the Scenic amenity overlay code, PO3 of the Eumundi local plan code including (Purpose and overall outcomes) (b) and (l) and Overall outcomes (l) and (n) of the Rural zone code.
Material Change of Use - (MCU) APPLICATION SUMMARY
Please click below for the detailed proposal with 3D renders, MCU plans and landscaping palette.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wouldn't the town centre be a better location for a supermarket?
Unfortunately there are no suitable sites within the town centre to include a supermarket and its associated infrastructure requirements. The proposed location out of the town centre ensures that residents can access their
shopping requirements without the congestion that arises within Eumundi due to visitors to the Eumundi markets and other community services within the town.
Is the service station confirmed for this location?
Yes, the site includes an approved service station development which covers over 4,293 square metres.
How will traffic issues be managed on this site?
Site access is proposed from a consolidated access point off Memorial Drive at the location approved with the service station application. A traffic impact assessment has been undertaken to ensure the development does not result in any traffic issues. The assessment indicates that the impact on Memorial Drive and Eumundi Noosa Road is insignificant and the road network will continue to operate at an acceptable level of service with spare capacity and minimal delays. The assessment also confirms that car parking and internal circulation will comply with Council requirements and Australian Standards.
What parking will be available onsite?
On-site car parking has been provided in excess of Council requirements.
The service station has approval for eight car spaces including one disabled space along with eight bowser car spaces, two motor bike spaces and three bicycle spaces.
The supermarket and service station includes 92 car spaces including 2 disabled spaces; 12 motor bike spaces; and 15 bicycle spaces.
Are there any green or environmentally friendly aspects to the design of the buildings?
The proposed design and location is sympathetic and compatible to the existing character of Eumundi while also offering substantial positive community benefits to local residents as well as the wider community.
Other green initiatives include:
i. Solar power to create more green energy for both the service station and the supermarket.
ii. Adding shade to carpark via a mix of shade trees and shade structures to reduce the heat load.
iii. Water tanks.
iv. Acoustic Fencing along Memorial Drive.
v. Vegetation screenings.
Will it be a staged development - i.e. service station first followed by supermarket?
Ideally, both the service station and the supermarket will be built at the same time however market forces will dictate the timing.
Is there some sort of entry statement incorporated into the design?
The proposed development has been designed as a cluster of buildings within the larger site area with each building presenting a unique, yet coordinated appearance. As a result, no specific entry statement has been incorporated
into the design as the intent is to create a precinct that presents as a smaller scale complex.
Will locals be considered for trade and supplier roles with this project?
As a locally owned and operated business, Altum Property Group will look to support its existing group of local suppliers and contractors while opportunities will be available to other suppliers on an as needs basis.
Will the service station operate over 24 hours?
The Service Station approval has no trading time restrictions however market demand will dictate the operating hours.
Have the supermarket and service station operators been appointment?
No operators have been chosen for either business at this stage.
How has the site become a supermarket opportunity for Eumundi?
Back in the early 2000’s Main Roads extended Eumundi Noosa Road and resumed a large portion of the ‘old strawberry farm’. In making this significant adjustment to the Eumundi Noosa Road network, it created a large, reasonably flat parcel of land on the Eumundi township side. As part of these road works, the site was connected to sewer, water, power and all sewer and drainage issues resolved by Main Roads.
Will this development change the town's character?
The location of the proposed supermarket is on the southern boundary of Eumundi and is not part of the heritage component of Eumundi. There will be no negative impacts on current businesses in the Eumundi township and should increase patronage for businesses located in town. The project will also have positive employment figures including around 44 direct employment opportunities and 10-12 indirect employment opportunities.
Council Feedback
To send a letter of support or feedback to Council, please send to the following email address:
mail@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Please also ensure that you reference the MCU Application number MCU22/0052.
An example letter to Council would be the following:
To whom it may concern,
RE: EUMUNDI SUPERMARKET MCU22/0052
We are excited about the possibility of having a supermarket in Eumundi.
Currently we travel to Noosaville to do our weekly shopping. We believe we would spend more in Eumundi if we had the convenience of a supermarket in town.
I give my full support for the proposed supermarket.
Yours Sincerely,
Your Name
Project Team
ARCHITECTURALLY DESIGNED SUPERMARKET & SPECIALTY STORES
10 Memorial Drive, Eumundi.
