Another bottle shop has been given the green light for Sandy Bay by Hobart City councillors.
Dan Murphy’s will soon move into the former Shiploads building on Sandy Bay Road, almost two years after their decade-old store at the site abruptly closed.
Plans for the $2.7 million development include interior and exterior alterations, new car parking, landscaping and signage.
The council’s decision to approve the Dan Murphy’s came during the same Wednesday night meeting where they voted against a proposed social housing development for homeless women.
“Sandy Bay, that special little shopping precinct which was so classy in the 70s and 80s … has lost its way,” Councillor John Kelly said.
“You drive down there now … [there’s] Golden Arch signs, the Coles tiled … fortress look about it and now to have the big alcohol signs … Sandy Bay has been let down big time here.”
“It’s something that we as council should really be look at long and hard.”
Alderman Louise Bloomfield offered a different perspective, saying the design was a step up from what once was a Chickenfeed store.
“Having lived around that area a lot of my life, this is probably overall an improvement. This one ultimately is just a little but better than all the rest,” she said.
“As much as it might not fit what we think this area should be, we’re actually just probably in the process of improving it.”
No council members voted against the Dan Murphy’s development.
