Plan have been lodged for a neighbourhood shop in Lismore Heights, but neighbours are not happy

The neighbours have raised a number of concerns about the development, but the applicant says they just want to rehabilitate the site.

There are plans to convert the old Lismore Heights service station into a neighbourhood shop.

New life will be given to an old service station in Lismore Heights, but what will go there, and will it be safe?

These were questions posed by neighbours when a development application was lodged for a former service station on Ballina Rd.

The DA for 426 Ballina Rd was lodged by SLR Consulting on behalf of Potentia, and proposed the demolition of an awning, removal of a roller door, and changes to internal walls to create a cold room and separate warehouse – at an estimated cost of $197,000.

A development application has been submitted to Lismore City Council to build a shop at the site of the old service station on Ballina Rd in Lismore Heights.

Potentia director Will Ellis said they aimed to open a neighbourhood shop selling a range of household and delicatessen items, as well as alcohol.

He said they would have to apply for a liquor licence once the DA was assessed.

But it was the sale of alcohol that has some residents concerned, as well as the hours of operation, impact on traffic, and contamination issues.

Paul Moretti said he was worried about the impact a shop selling alcohol would have on the surrounding area, and did not welcome an increase in traffic congestion if the DA was approved.

“Serious accidents happened when it was a service station, I don’t see any difference now,” he said.

Floorplan for proposed neighbourhood shop in Lismore Heights, by Rachcoff Vella Architects

Robert Garbutt said “the plans on display, with what appears to be a large walk-in cool room, looks more like a bottle shop design than a ‘neighbourhood shop’”.

Maree Santarossa said an alcohol outlet would bring “chaos” to an already “dangerous” nearby intersection.

Dan Rose said he was concerned the contamination issues had not been adequately addressed.

The site was last used in 2018, when it operated as a Coles Express service station, and on June 23, 2016, the NSW Environment Protection Authority declared it significantly contaminated land.

Mr Wills said Potentia targeted contaminated sites for development, and used a third party to verify decontamination work.

He said the company was “all about cleaning up sites”, and work was ongoing to rehabilitate the land in Lismore Heights.

A validation report prepared by Cavvanba Consulting was submitted with the DA, detailing remediation work conducted at the site, including the removal of underground tanks in July, 2020.

The report found the site was considered suitable for continued commercial/industrial use provided buildings remained in their current configuration, ongoing monitoring was conducted, and the risk to underground workers was managed with an environmental plan.

There are plans for a new shop at the old Lismore Heights service station.

An application had been made to Lismore City Council’s Traffic Advisory Committee to make the area in front of the site on Ballina Rd a ‘no stopping’ zone, to facilitate safer entry/exit of the property. Councillors voted to wait until the DA was assessed to make a determination.

The DA states opening hours will be 10am-11pm, Monday – Saturday, and 10am-10pm on Sunday.