Goulburn's Mary's Mount undergoes land rezoning at Mistful Park

But the size of neighbourhood shops will reduce from 1000 square metres to 250sqm.

That doesn't worry Ganter Constructions employee Richard Toparis who says his company has no intention of undermining Goulburn's CBD, as some suggest.

The council has endorsed a planning proposal for Ganter's land on the corner of Marys Mount Road and Crookwell Roads. The firm is developing a 211-lot residential subdivision and a commercial area at its 'Mistful Park' estate .

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The planning proposal:

Public exhibition attracted two submissions, one from Elly and Howard Spark concerned that the changed floor areas would prohibit development of a larger supermarket, which they argued Marys Mount needed.

"The people of Marys Mount deserve viable shopping facilities," they wrote.

But Mr Toparis said, and the council confirmed, that a supermarket up to 1500sqm would be allowed under the changes. It will be twice the size of one approved for the site in 2015.

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"We found in a study a few years ago that Woolworths, Goulburn was running at two and a half times its capacity, so it wasn't coping," he said.

"This (zoning change) just gives us the opportunity to service the area's needs."

He believed this was all the more pressing given the number of houses springing up at Marys Mount and the Crestwood shop's closure. His company doesn't have a specific operator in mind.

"A 750sqm supermarket is not large enough to function properly. The 1500sqm allows us to go to the market and find an operator who may find it more attractive," Mr Toparis said.

He had no issue with the reduction in the size of neighbourhood shops' floor area from 1000sqm to 250sqm. A report to councillors stated this was intended to "restrict commercially zoned land, where it may be in a less accessible or serviceable location."

Mr Toparis said this was fair and he didn't want to create "another CBD," as the council feared.

"We're ratepayers in the main street as well and we don't want to do anything that hurts business," he told The Post.

But he pointed out that in Canberra, neighbourhood shops were planned before houses were built.

"For some reason, people think we'd compete with the main street but all this (size restriction) has done is deprive the people of Marys Mount of somewhere to shop," he said.

The company will review the types of shops that will be suitable.

A childcare centre is already up and running and a cafe is nearing completion. George Fatouros and wife Kylie will operate 'K7G's,' a 100-seat cafe opposite the childcare centre. Mr Fatouros' had a long association with The Paragon Restaurant up until 2007 when his parents, Con and Anthea sold the business and the family moved to Sydney.

Mr Fatouros moved back five years ago and worked in a local engineering business. He admitted the food bug had bitten him again and he was keen to return to the industry.

The cafe is undergoing finishing touches and is scheduled to open in mid to late September, complete with drive-thru.

Mr Toparis said there were also longer term plans for a service station at the Marys Mount/Crookwell Road intersection and a motel nearby. A carwash was approved three years ago.

DAs will still have to be lodged for the proposed developments, despite the planning proposal's endorsement.

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The planning proposal also creates a public recreation space, which the council will manage. The area contains a detention pond to which some stormwater runoff from the subdivision will drain.

At Tuesday's council meeting, Cr Margaret O'Neill said with children in the area, it would be "like a death trap."

"Where is our duty of care?" she asked.

But planning and environment director Scott Martin said such ponds were "familiar territory" to the council and they were common within the Sydney catchment. It would be less than 300mm deep.

"We also have the Wollondilly River and Mulwaree Ponds running through this area and we manage them appropriately," he said.

The planning proposal also encompasses Marulan and recognises growth in its commercial sector.

It rezones land currently zoned B2 local centre north of the railway line to to B6 enterprise corridor and another area from B2 local centre to general residential with a 700sqm minimum lot size.

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