RE a little space in your paper to make a comment on the closure of FoodWorks. Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, this building was a store and to see it close down is a great shame and a waste.
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Firstly, I would like to thank Phil and Mary and staff for the wonderful service they gave me over the years.
I do fully agree with Phil’s letter about council. If the sums were done properly, Blind Freddie could see that the shire could not carry two large supermarkets. As for starters, there would be at least a third or better of the shire who shop out of the shire. For example Bookham, Jugiong, Nubba, Wombat, Kingsvale and Moppity residents nearly all shop out of town so it only leaves a handful of people left to support the two supermarkets.
When FoodWorks was open nearly all our money that was spent there was put back into the town. But with IGA most of our money is going to Canberra as only the shop workers spend in town.
Also, I would like to say if you or I put in a DA (development application) to build such the first thing council would make you do is put in a sealed car park, etc.
As for IGA as it is now, you cannot get a trolley between cars and there is not a layback to even walk down. This is very hard for the older people. At least at FoodWorks you had a ramp and aisle to push your trolley out to the back of your car as you are not allowed to put anything on your back seat by law. Plus FoodWorks had a bit more parking with Whitton Lane.
Next, I would like to comment about our street upgrade. I can not see why the money spent on such could not have been spent on getting natural gas into town. If we had this happen we may have got a couple of more industries come our way and get employment for some of our offspring.
I remember reading a statement in a Canberra paper a couple of years ago stating Harden could become a ghost town and if we lost anymore businesses. It is sure looking that way.
Accordingly, the story of doing up the street was to get traffic from the highway and help the town. The street, with so much money spent on it, is not looking good. Why would you plant cotton bud roses from one end to the finish?
I don’t know. It doesn’t look good at all without a bit of colour in it. Even if you planted canola up the centre, when it flowered, it would look better.
If a bit of colour was planted people would talk and then maybe people would come and have a look. Also, at this stage, if people come to town and park opposite the shire chambers they see the eyesore of derelict shops falling down.
If you or I had such the health people would be making us do something about it.
It is a great shame that we have lost four businesses and about 30 people are now out of work.
This could result in the town losing some families, which the town can’t afford.
On nose-in parking, I don’t know why only a couple of shire people did a walk survey instead of getting all of the ratepayers to say no or yes.
D J Kirk - Ex overseer, HSC