Supermarket battleground moves to Waikato

Angela Bull says Foodstuffs is spending huge sums on traffic flow around the site. Photo / Greg Bowker

Supermarket giant Foodstuffs appears to have won its 20-year battle to open a new Auckland Pak'n Save.

But now a new food scrap has begun.

Foodstuffs is facing a challenge over attempts to open a Waikato store.

Angela Bull, Foodstuffs property strategy general manager, said yesterday her company would open the new Wairau Rd supermarket on the North Shore in May.

That follows the deadline passing on Wednesday for rival supermarket chain Progressive Enterprises to lodge any further challenges over the store.

But now the battle between the two supermarket giants has shifted south.

Progressive subsidiary General Distributors has just filed documents in the Court of Appeal seeking permission for a High Court challenge over a proposed Te Awamutu store.

It follows a High Court ruling which dismissed General Distributor's application for leave to appeal against the Te Awamutu Pak'n Save which Foodstuffs wants to build and where more than 200 people will work.

Foodstuffs had to get a plan change or rezoning to allow that retail development and Ms Bull said the Waipa District Council approved this in 2006. But in 2007, the rival chain appealed that in the Environment Court which dismissed the case and confirmed the plan change.

A subsequent High Court decision upheld that Environment Court ruling to rezone land on Cambridge Rd to allow for the Pak'n Save and other shops.

But the latest Appeal Court action from Progressive is seeking special leave to mount a new challenge.

It has named the Waipa District Council, Foodstuffs business The National Trading Company and Bilimag Holdings as respondents in its action over bringing a civil appeal.

Russell McVeagh's Christian Whata and James Gardner-Hopkins for General Distributors made the application for the new case.

They filed the application from Nicholas Davidson QC and James Every-Palmer outlining grounds for a new case which included saying the High Court was wrong in conclusions it reached about the Te Awamutu property.

Ms Bull said Te Awamutu people wanted the Pak'n Save because their supermarket options were limited. Progressive dominates Te Awamutu through its Woolworths store and supplies the town's only other supermarket, Fresh Choice, she said.