‘Round in circles’: New plan for service station in Braitling submitted, but stakeholders still hold reservations
Plans for two new service stations in Alice Springs remain up in the air following further concerns about the proposed development sites.
Centralian Advocate
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PLANS for two new service stations in Alice Springs remain up in the air following further concerns about traffic management and safety of the proposed development sites.
United Petrolum has submitted a new plan for one of the proposed stations – chalked for the corner of Stuart Highway and Sargent Street in Braitling – to DIPL, following years of back and forth between the fuel giant and several NT stakeholders.
The plan outlines a 24-hour station with an ancillary food premises and access for large trucks.
The other proposed station is pencilled for the Stuart Highway and Schwartz Crescent intersection near St Philip’s College, and was previously rejected by the Development Consent Authority.
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The Alice Springs Town Council also raised concerns about the proposed sites for the service stations.
United Petroleum chief executive David Szymczak told Stewart Brash on ABC Radio the DCA rejected plans because they were not submitted in the agreed time frame.
Mr Szymczak said United Petroleum had first submitted an application to build the Schwartz Crescent station five years ago, which council had initially agreed to approve subject to “three or four conditions”.
“We say we satisfied (the conditions) at the time but the council said we didn’t and so the development has not gone ahead,” he said.
“We did make all sorts of changes to the development to try to satisfy them but couldn’t do that and so, in both the Braitling development and (the Schwartz Crescent) development, have been going round and round in circles for five years.”
DIPL awarded a tender for the major redesign of Schwartz Crescent intersection – notorious for traffic congestion – in late April, which sets out to develop a four-way intersection with traffic lights and a re-rout of traffic travelling on the crescent.
Mr Szymczak said the DCA rejected their plans for a second time for the same reason, but he is still keen to carry out the developments.
“After five years, it seems that it’s unfinished business for us,” he said.
“Meantime, United has built probably no less than 100 service stations in other states around Australia.”
He said something will need to change for United Petroleum to get on with the job, which he believed would benefit Alice Springs residents.
“It really comes down to whether there will be a circuit breaker or something that will change to allow us to get on with business and build these new developments in Alice Springs which the locals really need, if only to bring down the price of petrol in Alice Springs,” he said.
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