Countdown plans trigger meeting

Countdown confirmed it had secured further land on Havelock Rd as part of a proposal for a supermarket. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Countdown is forging ahead with plans for a supermarket on Havelock Rd, despite no application for resource consent and an outcry from residents.

Havelock Rd resident Gordon Smith said he and fellow resident Luke McCann were calling a meeting for concerned locals after he received an email from a Progressive Enterprises property developer this week, confirming two sections on Havelock Rd had been purchased by the Australia-owned supermarket chain.

The sections consist of the land on which Lulu & Max cafe is located, and a grassy lot beside the cafe which extends back to Parkvale School and includes a rugby field.

The email also said another 10 acre adjoining section had been "secured".

A Countdown spokeswoman confirmed yesterday: "We have secured further land on Havelock Road as part of our proposal for a new Countdown supermarket in Hastings.

"If a resource consent is granted we'd see part of the site being used for residential housing, which is in line with the district plan for future population growth."

The new store would create about 120 jobs, the spokeswoman said.

"At this stage we're simply in the early planning stages and any construction is still a long way off and subject to a resource consent too."

Both the purchased properties are zoned "Plains," or protected horticultural land.

A Council spokesman said no resource consent application had been received for the building of a supermarket on the land.

Mr Smith was concerned the planned supermarket could have disastrous effects for small businesses situated on the road.

"The day the supermarket opens, the Four Square will be shut down about a week later. There's a lot of local businesses that'll suffer if this goes ahead."

He was also worried about possible traffic issues on the arterial road, which serves as a thoroughfare between Hastings and Havelock North.

Lulu & Max cafe owner Tessa Flowers-Morrell said she was unsure of the effect a supermarket would have on her business, and was trying to stay positive.

With Mr Smith and Mr McCann, she was holding a meeting for concerned residents at 5.30pm on Wednesday, October 15 at Lulu & Max cafe on Havelock Rd.