Plans to upgrade the 'decrepit' Coles supermarket in Sebastopol have been lodged with the City of Ballarat Council.
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Under the proposals, a new larger Coles would be built that would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the property on 220 Albert Street.
Kittelty's Auction Room, which currently operates on the same site, would be demolished, as well as the existing supermarket.
There would also be a new Liquorland installed on the same premises.
In the planning documents, the existing Coles supermarket is described as "outdated" and "decrepit". The current building is a legacy of the BI-LO chain, which was re-branded as a Coles in 2006.
According to the application, the new Coles would be built "with high quality urban design", and "complementary colours and materials.... to suit the desired future character of Sebastopol".
There is no heritage overlay over the site. The proposed Coles building would be 3,921 square metres, with the Liquorland standing at 206 square metres.
We as a family have decided that after more than 30 years, Kittelty's Auction Rooms will cease in its current form on the 31st December 2019
Planners say the proposed redevelopment will encourage further investment to the area, as well as encourage cycling and travel by public transport - although the application notes that there are no cycling lanes in the immediate vicinity.
Several large signs are planned for the area, which also require planning permission.
These would include six on the site, five of which would be illuminated, as well as one each of the Victoria and Albert Street approaches.
While the hours of operation of the Coles supermarket are proposed as non-stop, 24-hours a day, the Liquorland operating hours are noted as from 10am to 11pm.
The planning proposal envisages the current Coles supermarket remaining opening while the new one is built.
Dean Kittelty, who runs the Kittelty's Auction Room, said that his business would be closing at the end of the year.
A notice on the website reads: "As a result of experiencing multiple cases of serious ill health in our immediate family... as well as the premature but not unexpected end of our current lease due to the development of our business premises, we as a family have decided that after more than 30 years, Kittelty's Auction Rooms will cease in its current form on the 31st December 2019. "
The announcement also referred to the firm's "wonderful friends, customers, vendors and buyers" and said that they had not ruled out selling the business as a going concern.
Talking to The Courier, Mr Kittelty was at pains to stress that his landlord had been "kind, generous and supportive".
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