OTR owners will appeal Burnside Council panel decision to reject Kensington Park servo
It’s been knocked back four times, but SA servo giant OTR isn’t giving up on plans for a 24/7 service station on Kensington Rd, in what one resident calls an attempt to “exhaust” Burnside Council.
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Service station giant OTR has lodged another appeal against rejection of long-held plans for a service station in Kensington Park.
Its parent company, Peregrine Corporation, is challenging a decision by Burnside Council’s assessment panel to reject a proposal for a 24/7 service station at 285-287 Kensington Rd, near the Regal Cinema.
The panel, by a 4-1 vote, rejected the plan in September, saying it did not qualify as a “small- scale” development and would create traffic and safety problems.
The site is the former home of an Ozone service station.
Peregrine will appeal the September decision in the Environment, Resources and Development Court (ERD) from January 20.
The council met with Peregrine representatives earlier this week for a preliminary conference.
Peregrine Corp’s attempts at two different versions of the service station has been rejected four times.
This is the latest chapter in a saga that began in October, 2016, when Peregrine lodged plans for a $3 million project.
It was rejected by the State Government’s assessment panel.
Peregrine’s appeal in the ERD was also dismissed.
That decision was then upheld in the Supreme Court in May this year following a further challenge from Peregrine.
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A company spokeswoman this week would only confirm it had lodged another appeal.
“We are committed to bringing an exciting retail offer to the community on this site and will continue working to achieve this outcome,” she said.
Local resident Chris Shakes, a long-term opponent of the project, said Peregrine was trying to “rerun the whole thing” in an attempt to “exhaust” the council and local opposition.
“The batsman has been clean-bowled and they keep going back to the DRS,” Mr Shakes said.
“They think they can’t possibly be out, even though the stumps are shattered behind them.
“The facts haven’t changed, that site is too small for what they are proposing.”
He said Peregrine’s persistence “verges on the vexatious, surely”.
Burnside Council spent $180,000 last financial year alone in legal fees, fighting the development.
