Foodstuffs South Island has been granted a resource consent by the Dunedin City Council to build a New World in Midland St.
The consent — which was granted last month and not notified — was issued for a new supermarket building, cafe, 140 car parks and a distribution centre on the 0.8ha site.
The retail giant, which also operates Pak’nSave supermarkets and Four Square stores, planned to build a new 3364sq m building on the site, the consent said.
Six years ago, Foodstuffs abandoned plans to build a $3 million Raeward Fresh Supermarket at the site after it became "genuinely frustrated" with restrictions in the council’s consent and zoning processes.
However, the site and its surrounding areas had recently been rezoned from industrial to the trade-related category as part of the second generation district plan, the consent said.
The site, which is now home to a two-storey warehouse building, was used as an overflow facility for Foodstuffs’ South Island distribution centre, which is on the opposite corner of Midland and Otaki Sts.
The council’s report said although aesthetic value and streetscape character were not of particular concern on a historically industrial zoned site, the new development would make a positive contribution with its more attractive building.
The report said there was was "considerable discussion" between the council and Foodstuffs about the effects on safety at the intersection of Midland and Otaki Sts as a result of increased traffic movements and whether improvements to the intersection were required.
It was estimated the supermarket would likely generate 496 vehicle trips in peak hours, a higher level than previously consented for Raeward Fresh on the site.
Modelling undertaken on the intersection confirmed while there would be a slight increase in delays, there would be no change in the level of service, the report said.
South Dunedin is also home to two Countdown supermarkets, owned by Woolworths NZ, and a Pak’nSave, owned by Foodstuffs South Island.
Foodstuffs NZ head of co-operative public relations Emma Wooster said the company was "delighted" to get resource consent, as South Dunedin was "a community we’ve been wanting to serve for some years".
She supplied no details about timeframes for the project.
