New Mount Crosby Rd service station development: Residents raise concerns about Chuwar servo, car wash and fast food outlets being given approval

The development on a busy Ipswich thoroughfare, which is across the road from an existing service station, will include a car and dog wash, two fast food outlets and eight fuel bowsers.

A service station complex has been approved on Mount Crosby Road in Chuwar.

A NEW service station complex on a busy thoroughfare has been given the green light by Ipswich City Council despite residents crying foul over the impact they say it will have on an already congested road.

Approval has been granted by the council for developers to build the servo on Mount Crosby Road in Chuwar, subject to certain conditions being met.

A development application was submitted late last year, seeking approval to convert residential land into business use for a servo, two fast food outlets and a car and dog wash.

Plans for the development were submitted to Ipswich City Council late last year.

The one hectare site is made up of five separate lots with a house on each.

The development over 266-274 Mount Crosby Road is across the road from an existing Shell service station.

It will be built over two stages, starting with a service station with eight fuel bowsers, a shop and a drive-through fast food premises.

A car wash with eight wash bays, six vacuum bays and a dog wash facility also forms part of stage one.

Stage two involves another drive-through fast food outlet.

All facilities within the development are proposed to run 24 hours a day with the Warrego Highway about 190 metres to the south.

The site is bounded by residential land to the north, east and west and the nearest house is 65 metres away.

“The proposed development, while commercial in nature, will assist in transitioning from established non-residential uses and assist in attenuating noise impacts on the residential zoned land from the nearby state-controlled roads,” a council memorandum noted.

“The subject site is bound by large lot residential properties to the north, east and western boundaries that also includes two large electrical easements that will limit the potential for future residential development immediately adjacent to the subject site.”

The council received 15 properly made submissions about the proposal, including from Australia’s largest natural gas infrastructure business APA Group, outlining concerns and issues.

The development will include car and dog wash facilities.

“The subject site is proximate to the APA gas pipeline easement,” the council report noted.

“APA has provided comment as part of public notification which indicated general support for the proposal but did note that the applicant had not liaised with the pipeline owner.

“To this end, conditions have been included that require the applicant to provide a hazard and risk assessment demonstrating that the use will not cause environmental harm and that the applicant is to provide confirmation from APA group that the development will not impact on the high pressure pipeline.”

Submissions from residents raised concerns that the new complex would be exacerbate congestion on the busy road and it shouldn’t be approved until the Mount Crosby interchange is upgraded.

Some residents said the development wasn’t needed due to other service stations and shops nearby.

“Mount Crosby Road is a state-controlled road,” the council said in response.

“The State Assessment and Referral Agency is a concurrence referral agency and in response issued a decision that requires the applicant to construct an additional lane from the Mount Crosby Road roundabout, located to the south of the site, which is to extend to the Junction Road roundabout to the north of the site.

“In addition, the applicant is also to construct a 70 metre long slip lane that is to provide access to the site.

“The applicant submitted an economic impact assessment report.

Businessman Dave Cullen is the new Karalee Community Association president.

“The economic assessment indicates that within the catchment there is a supply gap of approximately 1,485 m2 that is expected to grow over 7,600 m2 by 2041.

“The applicant is proposing a total gross floor area of 678 m2 which does not exceed the existing supply gap.”

Karalee Community Association president Dave Cullen said the community was dismayed by the news the upgrade of the Mount Crosby interchange won’t start until 2024 and he could not believe this development had been given the tick of approval as it would only increase congestion.

“It’s been a disaster,” he said.

“That’s an appalling waste of taxpayer money. It’s from (the state government) not looking forward. The first plan was done on 2017 figures. That's not a forward-thinking project.

“Someone is going to get killed on that highway, it’s only a matter of time. You can’t have trucks and cars running at 100 km/h with a whole heap of vehicles parked on the side of the highway.

“Everyone can see it’s a dangerous place to be.”

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

Originally published as New Mount Crosby Rd service station development: Residents raise concerns about Chuwar servo, car wash and fast food outlets being given approval