Estella is set to have four liquor stores on one street, sparking concern from local residents. Photo: Zach Griffith.
Wagga’s northernmost suburbs have been subject to a lot of new developments in recent years.
Since 2020, Estella and Boorooma alone have seen two supermarkets, a medical centre, a primary school and an application for a new pub approved or built.
While almost all of these projects have been met with strong support, there has been one issue that has left a few residents, students and professionals concerned.
If the Estella Hotel is to go through as planned, the aforementioned suburbs will have four bottle shops within a kilometre of one another. One at the Foodworks, another at the recently built BP service station, one for the planned Coles Express (both on Messanger Avenue) and the final one is planned for Estella Hotel at 77 Avocet Drive.
With the rise in domestic violence cases in the region, young families starting their lives in Estella and Boorooma and the university only a few hundred metres up the road, it begs the question – how many is too many?
Estella resident and CSU student Deanna Minogue and her partner Hamish Spicer have voiced their worry for families, believing Wagga Council and applicants for the developments have overlooked the safety and security of residents in the area.
“Four bottleshops on what is essentially the same street is outrageous,” Ms Minogue said.
“If a person is banned or kicked out of one, all they have to do is walk 100 metres to get to the next one. Being at CSU, I’ve seen drunk people do stupid things and giving them unlimited access to alcohol without even leaving the suburb is very scary.”
Mr Spicer echoed Ms Minogue’s beliefs, stating more planning should have been done.
“It feels like it’s attracting the wrong crowd and setting the wrong kind of precedent,” he said.
“The difference between going out to the pub and buying a drink from a bottle shop is, you can’t just cut someone off if they’re getting rowdy once they’ve bought drinks and gotten home.
“It’s not uncommon for supermarkets like Coles, Woolies and Foodworks to try and compete, but four on one street is a bit much.”
O’Hara Group director and applicant for the newly approved Estella Hotel, Sean O’Hara said that once operational, the hotel’s staff and security would do what it took to look after nearby residents and patrons of the pub.
“If we have to operate a courtesy bus every night we will,” he said.
“We want people to get home safe and for people living around the area to feel safe. We will obviously be following every protocol possible to ensure we are as safe as possible, including getting approval from ILGA (Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority) to serve liquor at the bottle shop and obviously on the premises.
“There are no shortcuts being taken.”
Region reached out to multiple alcohol and drug support groups to ask whether they believed four bottle shops was too many, but they all declined to comment.
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