Groceries yes, but no supermarket yet, says mayor

By Craig Westcott

The former Needs store in Holyrood is going to reopen as a convenience store and will sell grocery items, but it’s not the supermarket council has been trying to coax to the community for years, Mayor Gary Goobie cautioned.

Still, the mayor and council welcomed the opening of another new business.

The building at 358 Conception Bay Highway has remained empty since Needs pulled out some two years ago. On Tuesday, at the public council meeting, council approved in principle a permit to open a new business there. The applicant wasn’t identified.

“The zoning is in the Town Centre,” noted Deputy Mayor Michelle Woodford, who chairs the planning committee. “It is in the Needs (building), yes. And we didn’t have to go back and look for anything, it’s already zoned for that, and there was already an existing similar business there, so we could move right through on the application.”

Mayor Goobie said it’s good news. 

The motion to approve it carried unanimously.

“It’s great to see another business coming into Holyrood offering another service availability to our residents, so we wish them well when they start,” Woodford said.

In other development news, council approved applications to build single homes at 5-19 Duff’s Road, 73-83 Country Path Road, and one on a backlot at 67 Kennedy’s Lane Extension. Council also issued permits to replace water and sewer lines to a property, erect a commercial sign, and for a home occupancy.