A short history of the shopping centre.
The shopping centre was built as part of the Balmaringa Estate and was opened officially in 1959 with only three shops operating –the butcher , the supermarket (now licenced) and the chemist.
Other shops followed with the Post Office beginning in the Newsagency. Sweeney’s Drapery store was a loved institution with Moira Sweeney in the rear of the shop hairdressing as some of you may recall.
There have been changes since the beginning with the arrival of the bakery, the pizza place, the butcher becoming a cafe and hairdressing salon returning . Newsagency products and services are now in the Post Office and the supermarket is now an Express IGA.
Contents
- A short history of the shopping centre.
- Recent local history
- The Proposal
Recent Local History
In the last 15 years we have seen a large shift in the demographic make up of South Turramurra. Many houses that were occupied by older couples have been bought and remodelled or rebuilt by young families.
Land releases in the last few years have added many new houses, which have also been bought by young families.
These new families love the abundance of parks, trees, sporting facilities and schools. The only features that receive a negative comparison( apart from traffic congestion on Saturdays in winter)are the lack of parking at the local shops and the general state of the shopping precinct. The shops themselves are appreciated and everyone recognises the hard work that the shop-owners undertake in order to provide the services that we utilise.
In 2012 the KPPA carried out a survey at the shops in order to uncover exactly what the locals and those visiting the shops from outside South Turramurra wanted from the shopping village.Ballot boxes and surveys were placed in all of the shops and the whole of South Turramurra was letter-box dropped.We received almost 500 surveys.
It was very clear from the survey results that what was missing most from our local shops, according to the people who participated in the survey, were options for social dining. People wanted a place to meet friends, sit down and share a coffee or a meal in their own suburb.
The KPPA President at the time mentioned the survey results to a Turramurra businessman who realised the business potential of establishing a coffee shop and voila- Vertical Expresso was born. Locals loved it and flocked to it in droves.It is clear that locals love the community vibe of the shopping centre and hopefully will support the KPPA’s proposal to update the centre.
The Proposal
We made a proposal to council shortly after the survey and it was well-received by council officers but due to momentum being slowed the proposal was put on council’s and the KPPA’s back-burner.With a resurgence of interest in the proposal the KPPA will begin to lobby council again for refurbishment of the shopping precinct.Read the proposal below and look at the plans and tell us what you think. Then join KPPA and help support the cause:)
Our proposal to the council was to please help us transform the South Turramurra shopping precinct into a dynamic economic and social hub for the residents of South Turramurra, by creating a village green between the shops and the car park.
This village green would include areas for outdoor dining, play equipment, farmers markets and generally more social interaction than is currently available. In order to create the space to make this possible, the carpark may need to be moved much closer to Kissing Point Road.
At present, the space between the current carpark and Kissing Point Road is hardly used at all (except by the scouts to sell Christmas trees) as it adjoins a busy road and is separated from the shops by a carpark and access road.
You will find the plans of the two options for how we believe the precinct should be developed at the end of this page.
Option A involves moving the carpark away from the shops by just the width of the access road (3-4 metres). This option does create a much wider footpath in front of the shops whilst avoiding any altering of the existing green space between the carpark and Kissing Point Road. This option would allow for at least some space for more outdoor seating or community spaces/planter boxes. It would not create a village green feel, but it would be a vast improvement.
Option B involves moving the entire carpark to adjoin Kissing Point Road. This would create a large Village Green space directly in front of the shop. This is our preferred option.
We strongly believe that the creation of a village green at South Turramurra will enhance the precinct’s social, cultural and economic amenity by providing a hub for residents to eat, shop and play in a safe and harmonious environment.
Plans for options
The shopping site plan and proposed are below:
- Site plan – 2664 SK-00 SITE PLAN (0)
- Option A – 2664 SK-01 OPTION A (1)
- Option B – 2664 SK-02 OPTION B (1)