The Augusta Margaret River Shire has voted against the development of a petrol station in Cowaramup.
Cowaramup residents filled the council chambers to watch proceedings as councillors discussed a range of amendments made to the initial plans by the developers.
The proponent amended its original application from October 2016 after community concern.
The biggest issue raised by community members was the application for the petrol station to be open 24 hours.
Prior to the meeting, it was recommended that council approve the application with a number of conditions, including having the opening hours of 6am to 10pm seven days a week.
Shire President Ian Earl, who was joined by Deputy President Kylie Kennaugh in supporting the proposal, voiced concerns over the loss of opportunity to control aspects of the development.
Cr Earl said the proponent would most likely heads straight to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) to seek approval and would probably receive that approval.
He said the worry with this process was the developer could submit the appeal to the SAT removing all agreed changes to the plan, and Cowaramup could receive the original planned 24 hour service station.
Following the outcome and applause from the gallery, Cr Earl joked that “Cowaramup people” could go home if they wished, and a large number of residents filed out of the room to consider the result.
The proposal for the station comprised:
- Six car fuel bowsers for 12 vehicles (west of the building);
- Two refuelling bays (north of the building) including one high flow diesel bowser for trucks and one bay for caravans/large vehicles; and
- A convenience store, and ancillary Wild Bean café, totalling approximately 290m2. Access onto the Site is proposed via:
- An 11m wide one-way entry off Roy Earl Drive that accommodates left and right turn vehicles (modification to the Roy Earl Drive median strip is required for right turn access); and
- A 6m wide one-way entry from Bussell Highway, for vehicles travelling south, allowing left turn entrance from the highway. Exit from the Site is proposed via:
- A 7.5m wide crossover onto Roy Earl Drive for left turn only vehicles; and
- An 8m wide one-way crossover onto Hasluck Street for large vehicles. A ‘Keep Clear’ area is to be marked internally on Site to ensure traffic flows and to mitigate the risk of the Roy Earl Drive entrance being blocked by parked vehicles.