Four bottle shops in Helensburgh's main street is one too many in the view of local residents.
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Coles is planning to open up a Liquorland outlet on the corner of Walker Street and Short Street, three doors up from its supermarket.
The move would mean the main drag would have four bottle shops in a 190-metre stretch - one of which is just two doors south of the Coles supermarket.
Coles has lodged a development application with Wollongong City Council and a packaged liquor licence application with Liquor and Gaming NSW.
The bulk of responses to the liquor licence application posted on the Liquor and Gaming NSW site are resoundingly opposed to the Liquorland outlet
"Helensburgh already has three other bottle shops, locally owned and run by local families," one opponent wrote.
"Liquorland will run these families out of business."
Other concerns included the outlet being open until midnight Monday to Saturday, with one resident claiming no other store in the main street is open that late, and claims there is an increase in alcohol-fueled anti-social behaviour in Helensburgh.
Neighbourhood forum convenor Warwick Erwin said the community also had concerns about the future of support provided by the three existing outlets.
"All the three that are currently there are owned by locals and those three locals put a lot of money into the community sporting teams, charities - anything that's going on around town," Mr Erwin said.
"We know that for example, [Helensburgh] Premium Liquor has put in about $2000 into Hope Church's Pantries for underprivileged people.
"The owner of Helensburgh Premium Liquor and Helensburgh Cellars, the two families that own those are going 'well, if we go we can't support the local people'."
A spokeswoman for Coles said the company had "played a significant role in the Helensburgh community for close to 20 years".
"As a business, we're passionate about making a positive difference to the communities that we serve," the spokeswoman said.
"Through our partnership with food rescue organisation SecondBite we work with local group Hope Church 2508 to provide food to those in need, and Coles team members have supported a number of significant causes in the past year, including by raising funds for research into motor neurone disease and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation."
She said the Liquorland store "will support the local economy with several local retail and construction jobs and provide residents with a convenient full line shopping experience with the Coles supermarket."
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
