A NEW supermarket at Evanston could be on the way, with Gawler Council approving the first stage of a development application last month.

Planning firm Access Planning SA lodged initial plans with the council in May for a “supermarket and bottle shop” in the Gawler Park Homemaker Centre on Main North Road.

At Gawler’s Council Assessment Panel meeting a fortnight ago, panel members voted to accept a future development application for the proposed 3850 square-metre supermarket and assess it at a later date.

According to a report tabled at the meeting, council and Access Planning have been in discussions over “the past few years” to bring a supermarket to the shopping centre.

It is proposed to be built along the northern block of shops at the centre, with the operator of the proposed shop currently unknown.

An economic impact report submitted by Access Planning stated shops closer to Gawler’s centre may be financially affected, but the new supermarket would service the town’s growing population.

“The development is expected to have some trading impacts on existing facilities in the broader area, namely on the Coles supermarket at Gawler SC (Gawler Green), Aldi Evanston and to a lesser degree supermarkets within the Gawler town centre,” the report read.

“However, the impacts will not threaten the going concern or any existing facility’s ability to continue to operate successfully in the future.

“Therefore, it can be concluded that a net community benefit will result from the development of a supermarket at the Gawler Park Homemaker site, as currently proposed.”

Access Planning SA declined to comment.