Stanhope Village — Local services in Sydney

This was my first visit to the area as well as to this centre. I loved the shops fronting the main street out the front. Looked like a village. That was lovely! The car park area behind the shops was pretty full, despite the relatively early hour I visited. I walked around to the KMart. I found everything I needed. Had to wait for photos to be printed so I had a coffee at Donut King. The seating area was full for both this store as well as the one right next door. Perhaps a little extra space could be allocated for seating? The people in the Pharmacy were lovely and I was able to find what I was looking for and be on my way in a flash. Coles. I initially couldn't find the way in, given the way that they have closed everything off. Not welcoming at all but I wondered if there was a big shoplifting problem and this was their answer to that problem. It was a typical Coles once I found the way in. Getting out of the parking area was not easy and we waited for quite a while. Being new to the area, I didn't have the street smarts to find the better way out. Not a bad first time visit to this...

I visited Stanhope Village yesterday, and my son played in the new playground. Unfortunately, there were no security staff around, and many very young children were using the play area, even though it is meant for kids over 4 years old. This was quite frustrating because the older children had to constantly be careful not to accidentally hurt the little ones.

I know there is another playground near Big W designed for younger children, but many parents were not using it. One parent, in particular, became very aggressive toward my son simply because he was bigger than his children. Every time he passed by them, he would naturally make some contact, which upset the parent. It was extremely stressful to witness this man yelling at my child.

There was no staff around to assist, so I decided to take my son out of the playground. While the playground itself is beautiful, there definitely needs to be someone supervising to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience...

The shopping situation is frustrating and anxiety-inducing due to the setup with Aldis, Cole’s, and Big W, where there are three separate stores with four different types of trolleys. These trolleys can't be returned to a common trolley bay and require a coin to use, creating confusion and inconvenience. Nobody seems to care about where the trolleys end up after shopping, leading to them being left in locations that inconvenience others. This is particularly stressful when planning to shop at least two of these stores, especially with a one-year-old and other kids to pack away into the car with your trolley at the end of your shopping trip - only to now have to attempt to find a trolley bay which you can return your trolley to.

Shopping here is avoided because the experience is stressful, compounded by the inability to contact center management as their number found via Google doesn’t connect. The entire experience feels like an unwanted...