Bulls fails in bid to have $14m New World built

The owners of the Bulls Four Square store, Tarnea and Brian Leslie, are thrilled that their store is about to be upgraded and expanded.

Even though some of the Bulls community feel they have had their hopes dashed because they wanted a New World supermarket built in the town, Foodstuffs decided to go with a bigger, better Four Square supermarket instead, Mrs Leslie said.

More than 300 people petitioned late last year to have a New World supermarket in the town.

Bulls Community Board chairman Hew Dalrymple said it had been disappointing to be turned down.

"We really did our homework and collected the data to show that Bulls is a go-ahead little town, and has plenty of through traffic. A New World supermarket would have been a real asset for us."

Even though the town's population was not big, traffic through the combined section of State Highway 3 and State Highway 1 (Bridge St) was 8000 vehicles per day, he said.

However, the new development meant construction of a new Four Square supermarket, a service station and a fast food outlet on the large piece of land opposite McDonald's in Bridge St.

The cost of building a New World would have been $14 million, and Foodstuffs decided that was too much to outlay in Bulls, Mrs Leslie said.

The Leslies are delighted to be moving into a brand new, state-of-the-art supermarket, complete with a great butchery, bakery and more extensive grocery stock.

But more than 300 people filled in a community board survey, clearly stating their preference for a New World, Mr Dalrymple said.