The second and final day of the hearing to decide the fate of Woolworths NZ’s proposed Greytown accessway was a noisy affair.
The resource consent application to build an accessway, with additional signage, to Greytown’s FreshChoice supermarket is opposed by many local residents or business owners, some of whom spoke to their submissions yesterday.
As well as hearing from submitters, independent commissioner Lindsay Daysh was presented with evidence from South Wairarapa District Council transport, heritage, and planning experts.
All three of the council representatives recommended that the proposal be refused.
In the event the application is approved, consultant planner for the council Honor Clark also provided an “extensive suite of conditions” regarding the development previously listed in the council’s report.
When the hearing reconvened after a lunch break, Woolworths NZ counsel had an opportunity to respond to particular points made by submitters.
Their response included briefly reiterating the reasons behind developing the accessway [the current supermarket car park’s unsafe layout and lack of business visibility from SH2] and aspects of heritage values and traffic safety that would be prioritised.
The hearing wrapped up earlier than expected.
Daysh said he is expecting a written right of reply from Woolworths NZ within about two weeks.
He said at that point, if he has sufficient information, he will make a decision.
