Hendra residents lodge planning court appeal against McDonald’s

Northside residents have dug deep to fund a rare legal move in a last-ditch bid to stop a McDonald’s opening in their character suburb.

Hendra residents have chipped in an estimated $100,000 to lodge a rare Planning and Environment Court appeal against plans for a McDonald’s restaurant in a character area.

Council approved the project in January despite 436 formal objections in what was believed to be the first such rezoning in a residential area in Queensland — and possibly Australia.

Hendra Locals Against McDonald’s (HLAM) have also engaged a town planner, traffic and environment experts, and Dentons Lawyers, saying they were dead serious about their fight.

Very few residents appealed planning approvals because of the enormous costs involved and the low chance of success because of restrictive rules.

Even Brisbane City Council usually tried to negotiate out-of-court settlements rather than take on full-blown court hearings.

How the McDonald's restaurant would look.

HLAM spokesman Bill Moore said it had been “an amazing journey’’ with the community staging protests, setting up a Facebook page and organising formal submissions to council.

“Residents have put their hands in their own pockets to try to get this reversed,’’ Mr Moore said.

“We’re now waiting for a court date.

“There are just so many departures from City Plan that we believe the community deserves to have its voice heard.’’

The appeal was based on a number of grounds, including rezoning of a residential area in a character zone to commercial purposes.

It was also based on character and amenity impacts, traffic impacts and parking issues.

Their fight has attracted bipartisan political support including local state LNP MP Tim Nicholls and local federal Greens federal MP Stephen Bates.

Denise Howard and son Jock, 7, outside the Hertz car depot 330 Nudgee Rd where a Maccas is planned. Picture: John Gass

Mr Moore, a former CEO of Fitness Australia, said the site was also within walking distance of schools and bounded by five residential properties in a character zone.

“Our legal advice was that this is the first time in Australia a residential property in a character zone has been signed off for (a material change of use for) fast food,’’ he said.

Town planners Urbis, for the site’s owners, said the 2120sq/m property had been used for non-residential businesses since the 1960s, most recently a Hertz rental car storage area.

At the first “pre-lodgement’’ meeting with council, in July 2022, McDonald’s proposed a full-scale restaurant spread over two lots.

“The proposed development underwent several design iterations in response to feedback received from council,’’ Urbis stated in the development application documents.

“The primary changes involved reducing the scale of the built form and intensity of proposed operations.’’

After the second meeting in January last year McDonald’s agreed to scale the project back to a drive-through facility only, on one lot, with a smaller floor area and minimal parking, Urbis pointed out.

It also axed plans for car access from Nudgee Rd, with all vehicle movements now planned to be only via Gerler Rd.

There would be more, tiered landscaping and soundproof fences along all boundaries.

Airconditioners and cooking emissions would be positioned as far as possible from adjoining houses.

The project would include a dual-lane drive-through with one waiting bay and queuing for up to 12 cars, plus eight staff and three delivery parking spaces.

“Unlike a typical McDonald’s restaurant, which features a 450sq/m floor plate with inside dining, takeaway and drive-through options, the scale of the proposed development has

been significantly reduced (to 65 per cent of the standard size),’’ Urbis said.

A traffic report by consultants Lambert & Rehbein said it would generate 180 trips in the weekday evening and weekend midday peak hours, but stated that the Nudgee/Gerler intersection would remain below capacity until at least 2035.

Urbis said there would be no net loss of housing.

The usage was consistent with the area and similar to the Hertz depot, as cars frequently came and went from that business.

For more details go to council’s online development application portal developmenti. Search for 330 Nudgee Rd or application A006543699

Originally published as Hendra residents lodge planning court appeal against McDonald’s