Campaign to stop a 24 hour drive- through restaurant opening in Safety Beach kicks off
Locals still don’t know which major restaurant chain forms part of a plan to revamp a Mornington Peninsula servo. And they might not find out until after the fate of the development has been decided.
South East
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Angry residents have kicked off a campaign to fight a “sneaky” plan to bring a fast food chain to Safety Beach.
An application has been lodged with Mornington Peninsula Council to demolish an existing service station and rebuild it to include a 24 hour drive through convenience restaurant on the corner of Marine Drive and Nepean Highway.
The restaurant has not been named.
Amy Taylor, who lives near the proposed site, has started a Say No to Fast Food Safety Beach Facebook group to encourage people to object to the plan.
The page began on Friday (July 3) and already has 120 followers.
Ms Taylor said she started the group as soon as she heard about the plan.
“We only have until July 15 to object so we need to get onto this quickly,” she said.
Ms Taylor said the corner proposed was already dangerous.
“There have been some nasty accidents there and it gets really congested in summer,” she said.
“I don’t think we want to give people another reason to drive there.”
She was also worried about rubbish from the restaurant ending up on the nearby beach and the smell of fried food “wafting over her backyard.”
Others were upset about the applicants refusal to reveal the restaurant tenant.
“Truly insulting and sneaky as “yes” there is no mention “what the restaurant” will be, but blind Freddy can work out what it will be given the scale of the design to be able to take the capacity of a McDonalds,” Cornelia CC posted.
A council spokesman said the applicant was not required to reveal the proposed tenant. “Council has to assess the use of the land for a “convenience restaurant” and we are provided with information including hours of operation and patron numbers to assess this,” he said.
The plan for the Safety Beach site includes a 24 hour convenience restaurant with a drive through.
Mornington Peninsula councillor Antonella Celi said it was “early days” for the application and she was aware of community concerns.
“I’ve already had a quite few messages which is great. I welcome community input.”
She said all objections would be considered by planning officers.
A community meeting about the plan was not possible because of the COVID-19 restrictions, but a planning conference between the applicant and community members could be called.
Failing that the plan could be sent to council debate by planning officers or called in by a councillor.
“This is a significant application,” Cr Celi said.
“There are triggers in place that result in a matter being presented to the council at a planning services committee meeting.”
Applicants and objectors can put their case at a committee meeting.
Cr Celi said the applicant had not identified who would operate the convenience restaurant.
She said the application would be considered in terms of how it met the council’s planning scheme.
“The council can’t rule for or against a particular business.”
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