The Woolworths site at Dunlop. Woolies has blamed falling foot traffic for the decision to close. Photo: Region.
The Dunlop community is rallying after the shock decision by supermarket giant Woolworths to close its store in the West Belconnen suburb, with a petition launched by local MLA Yvette Berry gathering hundreds of signatures.
Rumours began circulating on Friday that Woolworths would close the small supermarket, the only tenant at the Dunlop shops, aside from the semi-permanent Coffee Scroll coffee van.
Today (9 February), Woolies confirmed that the site would close in late September, blaming the decision on falling foot traffic for a number of years.
“The store will continue to trade as normal until it closes, and we thank the Dunlop community for its support over many years,” it said in a statement.
“We look forward to welcoming customers at our neighbouring stores in Charnwood and Kippax.”
It would secure roles for staff at nearby Woolworths stores wherever possible.
But Belconnen Community Council chair Lachlan Butler said Woolworths was being hypocritical in saying a suburb of 7500 people could not support its small store, while at the same time saying it wanted to expand its Hawker site to a full-line supermarket.
Mr Butler said if the store at Dunlop was failing, Woolies must be doing something wrong.
“If you look at the statements that they made on Hawker Woolworths, they said you need a full line supermarket for every 8000 to 10,000 people. Dunlop has 7500 people in it,” he said.
Mr Butler said Woolworths had previously argued that there was an undersupply of supermarket floor space in Belconnen.
The worry was that the Dunlop site would end up like the neglected Richardson shops or the Giralang shops, which lay derelict for more than a decade.
The Coffee Scroll owner had already told him that his business would not survive without the supermarket.
Mr Butler urged the ACT Government to help reverse Woolworths’ decision or secure another supermarket operator, such as IGA or Superbarn, which would have community support.
“It would be cheaper for them to get involved and try and get a good outcome now than it would be in two or three years, like the Richardson shops where they’re now doing controlled activity orders,” he said.
“Eventually, it does become a matter for the government. Do they do it now and get a better outcome for less money, less effort on their part, or leave it and have to pick it all up later?”
Mr Butler supported the petition, which, if nothing else, demonstrated that the community cared about and wanted their local shops.
“If there wasn’t any public interest being shown by the community, I think it would be harder for a Superbarn or an IGA or an alternative business to go there,” he said.
Ginninderra MLA Yvette Berry has fears for the Dunlop site. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Ms Berry said today that the petition had garnered more than 800 signatures and that she would inform Woolworths of the community’s views when she met company representatives on Wednesday.
She said the community and government were surprised and disappointed at Woolworths’ decision, especially given the recent park upgrades.
“We’ve had these shops since 2011, and they really are bringing the community together in different ways,” Ms Berry said.
“We’ve done upgrades to the park here, we’ve got a toilet going in, we’ve got a little micro forest growing, so there’s a lot of effort being put into making this place a place to gather, and now without the shops or any kind of retail supermarket here, that’s going to have a big impact on this.”
Ms Berry said the community needed to show Woolworths its support for the store in Dunlop.
She was concerned that the site could become abandoned.
“It is a very isolated area in Dunlop, so not having a shopping centre here or somewhere to gather like this that’s safe, particularly for young people, it’s going to have a big impact on this community.”
Ms Berry said the larger Charnwood and Kippax stores were already very busy, and this closure would place even more pressure on those sites.
Mr Butler said the closure would be another blow to Dunlop, which had just lost its Rapid bus service in the new network.
He said it was a lower socio-economic area than other Canberra districts, but it was a substantial suburb.
The Dunlop site was sold in 2018 for $4.6 million, with Woolworths holding a lease expiring in October 2026, plus three five-year options to 2041.
