The battle for the Giralang Shops has been a long one... The years and years of inaction were frustrating and continued to drag on, impacting the Giralang community in so many ways.
By 2018, a Development Application was approved and it looked promising that finally the shops would be delivered, however nothing happened.
From the petition, the Standing Committee on Planning, Transport and City Services launched an inquiry, and sought to get a response to the issues raised by the community in the petition.
I put a number of questions to the developer that were directly from residents in Giralang, the final one being “when do you say its time to give someone else a go?”.
Following the hearings and because of the Giralang Community's input and activism the developer could be in no doubt that Giralang was sick of waiting and wanted action.
In 2022, the previous developers did give someone else a go when they sold the land to the new developers. The Committee handed up their final report where they found “the barriers to development outlined by the previous developer, had not proven significant for the new developers.”
Now in 2024 the shops are almost complete, and in the very near future Giralangers will be able to say once again, "I’m just popping down to the [Giralang] shops."
It’s been quite the journey but I for one am looking forward to seeing you all at the shops and thank you for your assistance over the past 4 years!
Just a quick update on Giralang Shops. Several people have written to me about a variation notice they received in the mail.
I’ve spoken with the developer to clarify what the variation is and why it’s happening.
The variation is to add the use of “indoor recreation facility” to the lease. Under the zoning for the site the use is permissible however not all uses are listed on a lease.
If a permissible use is not listed on a lease a proponent can apply to have it added which is what is happening here.
The developer has indicated there is a Pilates studio interested in opening at the shops. However any finalisation of a lease is subject to the variation to the lease being approved.
The developer also confirmed the bakery/cake shop and the supermarket are confirmed. The developer is looking to fill the other tenancies asap.
