News
17 November, 2025
Supermarket overkill or retail reality?
Coles may claim to ‘Value the Australian Way’ – but Wollondilly residents have taken to social media in their hundreds to say it’s not necessarily the Tahmoor way.
Coles may claim to ‘Value the Australian Way’ – but Wollondilly residents have taken to social media in their hundreds to say it’s not necessarily the Tahmoor way.
Plans for a new Coles supermarket on vacant land in Tahmoor’s town centre have taken local residents by surprise.
Wollondilly Shire Council’s DA tracker shows the application was exhibited from September 23 to October 21 but many people were in the dark until a post on a Wollondilly community Facebook page last week.
The DA is currently listed as ‘Undetermined’.
Coles bought a vacant site in Tahmoor earlier this year at a reported cost of $15.4 million (GST included).
The site is bounded by George, Larkin and York Streets and Thirlmere Way. It has been vacant since 2008 after two local investors amalgamated 16 house lots.
The application is for a shopping complex including a 200-space carpark, supermarket, two specialty retail shops, a bottle shop and associated infrastructure works including footpaths and a new roundabout on Thirlmere Way.
Documents lodged as part of the application say it will provide new services and employment opportunities for Tahmoor residents and that it will “enhance the role of the Tahmoor Village Centre as the communal heart of Tahmoor”.
An economic impact statement says Woolworths Tahmoor is currently trading “well above average” due to the lack of a competitor and its sales would be reduced to “modest but sustainable levels” once Coles is open.
The impact on Tahmoor retailers would be ‘positive’ as a result of increased visitation.
However the application has taken Tahmoor residents by surprise and some people are questioning the viability of another supermarket given the proximity of other supermarkets and uncertainty over the future of Tahmoor’s SIMEC colliery.
They have listed a range of stores they would rather see in Tahmoor with BigW topping the list. Other suggestions include Bunnings, Target, Best&Less and a bargain store such as The Reject Shop.
They have also raised concerns about lack of notification, impacts on traffic and the proliferation of liquor outlets in such a small area.
Others say a new supermarket is needed given recent population growth in Tahmoor and nearby Thirlmere and are confident that increased competition will help drive grocery prices down.
Real estate sources say there have been limited opportunities for retail development in Tahmoor over the past 17 years.
Read More: Tahmoor, Wollondilly