Servo a ‘violation of town’s character’

Above: No to servo. Yandina residents protest the prospect of a service station on the corner of Stevens Street and Farrell Street.

Yandina says 'no' to proposed service station in middle of town

A development application for a service station in Yandina that had been refused by Council may go ahead after all, following an appeal by developer Pearl Investments.

Negotiations between experts hired by Council and the developer in the Planning and Environment Court appear to be approaching reluctant agreement, according to Yandina and District Community Association. Negotiations could include the re-routing of fuel tankers along suburban streets and past a child care centre. 

The issue has been of concern to YADCA and Business Yandina since January 2021. “Yandina residents have been living with the unwelcome prospect of a new service station at the Farrell Street/Stevens Street intersection in the heritage and character precinct of town,” said YADCA president Marie Reeve.   

Ms Reeve said the original plan for fuel tankers to enter and leave the station was rejected by Council, but maintained that the only other alternative was no improvement.  

“The option of re-routing tankers up Stevens and Buckle Street and down Old Gympie Road is no better,” she said. 

“Have the traffic engineers visited the site? The corners are steep and tight. The roads are narrow and often become one-lane when cars are parked on both sides of the street. It is a medium density residential area.”  

Proposed Route Through Yandina High Density Residential Streets for Fuel Tankers Servicing.

Ms Reeve said safety and amenity would be sacrificed if the service station was approved and the development was inconsistent with the Service Station Code, which requires that a service station does not adversely impact upon the amenity of the surrounding local area and has safe and convenient access to the road network.

“While amendments have been made to the plans it is very hard to make a service station with its wide expanse of concrete, large advertising signs and high traffic volumes comply with the Yandina Local Plan Code which aims to see Stevens Street enhanced as an attractive and pedestrian-friendly main street. 

“Nor would it comply with the Heritage and Character overlay code where buildings in Yandina’s character area are typically ‘continuous small-scale commercial buildings built to the street alignment with a narrow frontage and a predominance of street parapets of various shapes together with post-supported street awnings’.”

Business Yandina President Bill Gissane said his organisation was implacably opposed to the development which he said was a violation of the town’s character. 

“It is not good for business and it is not good for the community,” he said. “The town’s character and the community’s safety and amenity should not be disregarded in favour of an ill-conceived development application. 

"The proposed site is a premium vacant block in the town centre and there are undoubtedly many other developments that would otherwise enrich and enhance Yandina’s character as the oldest hinterland town rather than diminishing it.”