Chips are down

By Tania Martin
AN EMERALD fish and chip shop owner has vowed to tie up a proposed supermarket development in the courts.
Blue Hills Fish Café’s Emmanuel Lambrou said the Shire of Cardinia had approved a proposed Woolworths supermarket despite the plans being incorrect.
He said the plans had cut off part of his shop, which he holds a lease for until 2012.
Mr Lambrou said he will fight the development all the way to the courts.
“This is going to cost the council thousands in ratepayers’ money to fight,” he said.
The council approved a planning permit for the supermarket at 387 Belgrave-Gembrook Road at a planning meeting on 1 September.
The application was for a Woolworths supermarket, two speciality shops and 132 parking spaces.
Mr Lambrou said the whole process was ill-planned.
He said the first plans cut off all but 10-feet of the shop.
Mr Lambrou said a re-establishment survey needed to be undertaken to show the correct boundaries of his shop.
However, both the council and Woolworths said the re-establishment survey was completed.
A Woolworths spokeswoman said the current architectural drawings were correct to the best of her knowledge.
“We have been very careful to design the plans so that there is no infringement on the fish and chip shop owner’s rights under his lease including the rear access of his shop.
But Mr Lambrou said a second plan was still incorrect.
He said the new plan had cut off his back access to the shop and garbage disposal area.
Mr Lambrou was disgusted at a recent (29 August) meeting with council officers who had lost documents supplied by his lawyer.
The council said it was a misunderstanding.
Shire planning and development manager Phil Walton said officers thought Mr Lambrou was referring to a different communication.
Mr Walton said council requested a copy of Mr Lambrou’s lease agreement before the council planning meeting, but that it was not supplied.
But Mr Lambrou said the council had no right to see the lease agreement as it was a legal document and only needed to be supplied to the council’s legal department.
Mr Lambrou said the council and Woolworths thought he was a small businesses man with no money to fight the development in court.
But he said they were sadly mistaken.
“I have the money to fight and it’s going to cost thousands and thousand of dollars in the courts,” he said.
“There is going to be action…I will not back down, it’s the principle of the matter.”
Mr Walton said the council had approved the supermarket proposal as it felt it would benefit the community.
He said Mr Lambrou was well within his right to appeal the decision at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.