Coles Beerwah development receives minor change tick from court

Developers behind a controversial Sunshine Coast supermarket proposal have had a win in court as its battle against a council rejection continues.

Coles has won an appeal against the rejection of a major Beerwah development.

A major Beerwah development proposal has had a win in court following an ongoing stoush between the retailer and the Sunshine Coast Council over potential traffic issues and local business concerns.

A court has ticked off Coles Group Property Developments’ changes to its traffic plans as “minor changes” despite opposition from Village Fair.

Coles applied to the council in late 2019 to develop a supermarket, homemaker centre, service station and McDonald’s at the site outside Beerwah’s town centre, which has received fierce opposition from residents and the business community.

The latest decision relates to a minor change to the application.

Other appeals against the council’s refusal of the project are still ongoing.

The council, Village Fair Investments - which owns the Beerwah Village Shopping Centre, and department of state development chief executive were named as co-respondents - however Village Fair Investments was the only party to oppose the traffic changes.

Documents shows district court judge David Kent delivered the verdict in favour of Coles in the Planning and Environment Court of Queensland on September 1, following a hearing in August.

The proposed development, which had been refused by the respondents three times, features a “homemaker” style site at the corner of the Roys Rd and Steve Irwin Way intersection.

The Coles Beerwah development has been rejected by the Sunshine Coast Council three times.

The retailer first submitted the development application to the council in 2019, with residents and local businesses owners petitioning against the project they previously told the Daily would “split the town in two”.

In order to ease the traffic, especially given the heavy vehicles that frequently use the roads, Coles proposed a new U-turn facility to be located on Roys Rd.

Rather than turning right at Moroney Place, vehicles would need to turn left to perform a U-turn at the new roundabout.

However, Village Fair argued the new U-turn would mean the development is “substantially different” to the initial plans submitted for approval and as a result the development would have more access points than originally planned.

Village Fair argued those wishing to travel westbound along Roys Rd would be inconvenienced by the removal of the right-turn by Coles.

However, Mr Kent ultimately decided the new U-turn space proposed by Coles did not result in a major change to development and would be adequate at easing the high volume of traffic travelling westbound.

“The new allocation is entirely within the subject land and is not in that sense ‘new’ or involving any significant new or different impacts,” Mr Kent said.

Originally published as Coles Beerwah development receives minor change tick from court