DA approved for pharmacy

McINERNEY"S Pharmacy will have a new home and a new look by the start of October after the council approved Gerard McInerney"s development application at its meeting last week.

The pharmacy will move to 118 Terralong St, a set of four shops that most recently housed animal rights activist Helen Blake and before that Liberal Party member Ann Sudmalis" campaign office.

The approved DA outlines plans to combine the four shops and the arcade between them into one large shop and build a second storey over about half the site.

Mr McInerney"s daughter, Sarah, who is also a pharmacist, said the planned move had been in the pipeline for "a while". Her parents bought the building last year.

"This will be a much bigger shop. There"ll be more space for the professional area and more privacy," she said.

"Dad"s been in (the existing) site for about 30 years and we"ve really reached the capacity of what we could achieve here."

The planned new building will cover almost 400 square metres, compared with the existing site"s 270 square metres.

As part of the move, McInerney"s will change brand from Soul Pattinson to a Priceline Pharmacy.

"With this change and the extra space we will be able to compete with the supermarkets price-wise and stock more products so people don"t have to go out of town," Ms McInerney said.

"We"re also looking to improve the pharmacy side of the business, with more counselling areas; there will be more space, more privacy and it will be more professional."

She said construction to combine the shops, flatten the floor level and build the second storey would begin in the next few weeks.

The pharmacy is expected to have moved by October 1.