SHOALHAVEN City Council will contribute $186,000 to help pay for a new access road to the Bay and Basin Leisure Centre required as part of the upcoming $50 million Vincentia Shopping Centre project.
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That figure is almost $30,000 less than the $215,000 requested by Woolworths.
Earlier this month Woolworths’ development arm, Fabcot, tried to finalise the cost sharing arrangement with council for the Bay and Basin Leisure Centre access road, which is required as part of the original NSW government approval.
The road is required as the area where the existing leisure centre access road is located needs to be rehabilitated for environmental reasons as part of the approval.
Fabcot asked for the matter to be dealt with as confidential, as it contained actual tendered construction costs for the access road as part of the larger road works proposed for the Vincentia District Centre. The company was in negotiation with a number of builders to finalise the contract for those works.
Council decided at Tuesday evening’s ordinary meeting to offer Woolworths a roadwork contribution of $120,000, the value of land associated with the required closed road, and a contribution to the necessary upgraded wastewater and water mains of approximately $66,000.
Council said it would enter into negotiations with Woolworths over the contribution.
Shoalhaven Mayor Joanna Gash said Woolworths was required to enter into negotiations with council over the construction costs of the new road as part of the Part 3 (a) consent conditions provided by the state government in 2007.
Cr Gash said the current council would be honouring the earlier commitments endorsed within public reports considered by the previous council in 2011 and 2012.
“The existing access to the Bay and Basin Leisure Centre was inadequate for the amount of traffic expected to utilise this area once the new shopping centre is opened and the leisure centre precinct is fully developed,” Cr Gash said.
The final design will include improved street lighting, a slip lane on a signalised intersection with upgraded access to the leisure centre including an upgraded road surface that will be able to cater for buses and a higher usage.
“Council had previously committed to paying a higher percentage of costs however a recent rationalisation of the design has actually seen the organisation reduce our offer,” Cr Gash said.
Council will be tabling the offer to Woolworths in the near future.