Developer loses court battle over Sunshine Coast fast food, servo plans
A decision has been reached after the developer of a planned service station with a major fast-food hub on the Sunshine Coast appealed the council’s refusal.
A developer has copped a major blow in court, with a judge deciding to uphold the local government’s refusal of a proposed fast food and service station centre on a rural Sunshine Coast site.
Developer, Paradise Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd, filed an application to appeal the Sunshine Coast Council’s refusal of its development application in the Planning and Environment Court.
The court documents also list organisation Sunshine Coast Association of Residents Inc and the Chief Executive of the State Planning Department as respondents in the matter.
According to the court documents the developer sought to transform a vacant site on David Low Way and the Sunshine Motorway at Pacific Paradise into a BP service station along with a McDonald’s and a KFC.
Spanning more than 30ha, the property is described in the court documents as “large, vacant and irregularly shaped”.
The site was formerly used for cane farming and is currently zoned under the planning scheme as a rural area.
The court documents stated the development would be built on an elevated pad to minimise the flooding risks, but this would not be able to “be concealed from view”.
“The land is generally flat, low lying and constrained by flooding impacts. This is the product of its location in the Maroochy River flood plain,” the court documents stated.
The development proposal was met with resistance from both the council and a local community group, the documents stated.
Ultimately, Judge Michael Williamson delivered his verdict regarding the appeal on Friday, outlining a number of issues with the proposal but largely focusing on the impact the large-scale construction would have on the landscape.
While Mr Williamson admitted the proposed service station would likely be successful, he was “underwhelmed” by the evidence supporting the need for the McDonalds and KFC.
Mr Williamson stated in the decision, if the proposal was to go ahead it would “diminish landscape values”.
“The design, scale and intensity of the proposed development is such that it would not protect landscape character and scenic amenity,” Mr Williamson stated.
The appeal was dismissed and the council’s decision to refuse the application was confirmed.
