PLANS for a driveway linking the Aldi car park to the neighbouring council car park to the north will not proceed after councillors deemed there was little benefit.
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Jack Evans from Jack Evans Workwear opposed the move at Orange City Council's meeting on Tuesday night because the businesses fronting Peisley, Summer and McNamara streets relied on the car park for their employees and customers.
"Aldi recently complained about vehicles being parked in their car park when people hadn't shopped there - I find this rather ironic as developers are proposing to link the car parks so Aldi customers have more space to park," he said.
He said the car park was already very busy, with freight vehicles visiting throughout the day.
"It would only make a bad situation worse," he said.
A 150-signature petition was submitted opposing the move.
Councillor Joanne McRae said only two car spaces would be lost within the existing Aldi car park, but being able to park as close as possible was important for those with limited mobility.
"The loss of those car parking spaces doesn't justify the change," she said.
She said plans to add a loading zone on Peisley Street would also affect the total number of spaces available and noted the council had already agreed to monitor the Aldi car park to ensure customers were not staying longer than the two hours allowed.
Councillor Russell Turner believed the monitoring would free spaces in the Aldi car park.
"Maybe if Aldi come back in 12 months' time asking us to review it again with further evidence, we'll look at it then," he said.
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