New McDonalds at Kepnock opposed by community group

The battlelines are being drawn around a new McDonald’s proposed for Kepnock, an inner suburb of Bundaberg, which a community group has said is “inappropriate” for the nearby residential community.

Community opposition to the controversial Kepnock Town Centre is set to enter a new phase following the submission to council of a 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant near residential areas and a high school adjacent to the site.

Community opposition to the controversial Kepnock Town Centre ha entered a new phase following a submission to Bundaberg Regional Council for an adjacent 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant near residential areas and a high school.

Led by ex-councillor Mary Walsh, the Kepnock Residents Action Group had engaged in a running battle with Bundaberg council and developer Janam Pty Ltd over the shopping centre at 106 FE Walker St in Kepnock, which opened in November 2023.

High on the list of KRAG’s concerns were the impact on residents from increased traffic flow through the area, and the environmental impacts from the shopping centre being built in a flood zone, with a natural watercourse needing to be filled in to accommodate the development.

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The application lodged with council by town planning consultant Urbis on behalf of McDonald’s Australia Limited attempts to address these same concerns through appeals to legislative exemptions and plans to implement landscaping that will reduce the impact on the surrounding community.

The proposed 24/7 McDonald's restaurant will have a 450 sqm footprint at the southwest corner of the Kepnock Town Centre site, abutting Kepnock High School and residential homes on Glen Court and Yates Court.

In the proposal, the fast-food restaurant will have a 450 sqm footprint at the southwest corner of the Kepnock Town Centre site, abutting Kepnock High School and residential homes on Glen Court and Yates Court.

The restaurant will have 24/7 opening hours, 33 parking spaces and a dual-lane drive-through with space for up to 20 vehicles.

A traffic assessment included in the application estimated an additional 180 vehicles per hour would enter the shopping centre complex as a direct result of the McDonald’s development.

The application included advice from the council that there were “significant concerns raised by residents” about the 24/7 trading hours proposed for the restaurant, noting the approval of the shopping centre development was conditional on restricted trading hours ending at 9pm on weekdays and 6pm on weekends.

In response, the application said the development permit for the shopping centre site identified it as “balance land”, meaning the council could provide written approval allowing the restaurant to deviate from the shopping centre’s opening hours.

The application proposes to build a 1.8m acoustic barrier along the southern and western edges of the site, adjacent to the residential areas.

In an attempt to address the community concerns around noise and nuisance impacts, the application proposes to build a 1.8m acoustic barrier along the southern and western edges of the site, adjacent to the residential areas.

The noise assessment was done on the assumption that there would be no service deliveries or garbage collections done between 10pm and 7am.

While she was yet to review the full development application, Ms Walsh said the implementation of a 24-hour trading business closely abutting residential land and a school was “inappropriate”, asking why the developers had not proposed the restaurant at the other end of the site near the exiting Aldi supermarket.

Former councillor Mary Walsh called the proposal "inappropriate" for its proximity to residential areas and the high school, and said the proposed 1.8m acoustic barrier solution was "imprisoning".

“They don’t need to put it close to houses,” Ms Walsh said.

“If they really want a McDonald’s, why isn’t it down near Aldi? Why is it up there with houses?

“It doesn’t have to be.”

Ms Walsh rejected the 1.8m acoustic barrier proposed to mitigate noise and nuisance impacts on residents, saying it would be “imprisoning”.

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“That’s getting close to the height of the Berlin Wall, and these are people in their homes who should not feel hemmed in by a huge acoustic fence,” she said.

Ms Walsh said KRAG members and the Kepnock community would be preparing submissions outlining their objections to the proposed McDonald’s restaurant.