Shopping centre in Lennox Head secures council development approval

Developer Clarence Property has received approval from Ballina Shire Council and the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) to deliver a $30 million neighbourhood shopping centre at its Epiq community in Lennox Head.

Woolworths entered into an agreement for a 15 year lease as anchor tenant on the back of the development approval and is expected to open its doors in mid 2020.

This is in line with the completion of the shopping precinct, which is expected to commence construction early next year.

The shopping centre will ultimately include a full line, 3,340 square metre Woolworths supermarket, 277 carparks, alfresco dining space and 1500 square metres of specialty stores.

Epiq's projected population is set for around 1,700 residents once the community is fully developed.

The Clarence Property General Manager said: "The benefits are three-fold. Woolworths' commitment to the centre means locals will no longer have to travel to Ballina for a full line supermarket, which means more money will be spent locally. This in turn will help sustain local employment, with the Epiq shopping centre expected to support about 273 jobs."

Woolworths Regional Property Manager, Phillip Peel, said the company was thrilled to enter into an agreement to secure one of the key retail tenancies in the development as the growing population indicated clear demand for a full-line supermarket.