Objection - MCU15_0095 & REC15_0022

Page 2

congestion, which occurs, on a daily basis.

At present, cars traveling from Goodchap St regularly cut across the two lanes of the round about
to make the left hand turn into Walter Hay Drv, this will only increase with people frequenting the
service station - which as stated in the documents will be up to 129 visits per hour during peak
times.

There are already major congestion issues at school pick up and drop off times along Eumundi-
Noosa Rd from the beginning of the school 40k/hour zone north of the school, running down the
road past the Walter Hay Drive roundabout as well as congestion along Goodchap St often from
the roundabout at the entrance to Noosa Hospital.

Myself and other parents have been abused by a drivers rushing to get through the roundabout
whilst waiting in the pick-up line or have had “near misses” at the entrance of the school with traffic
traveling at speed greater than the designated 40km/hr zone and failing to give way to traffic
already on the round about. With the round-about acting a u-turn facility to vehicles traveling north
wishing then travel south to gain entry to the service station I believe will only exacerbate the
situation.

At present the land is used as a “unofficial/overflow” carpark for upwards of 50 cars a day and
more during major school events (eg:Shepherds Fair, concerts etc…). If this parking option is no
longer available then these displaced vehicles will add to the current traffic congestion and chaos
significantly. Forcing parents to either join the pick-up line or park illegally so as to collect their
children.

The documents stipulate that the smaller, second block will be retained by the school in the interim
to be sold or developed at a later date and will remain available for current uses including event
and overflow parking, yet the planning submission clearly shows fencing, kerbing and landscaping
around the easement section preventing any vehicular access to the second block.

At present the access point for the land is about 100m from the roundabout and is quite difficult to
navigate due to the grade of the kerb/road level, causing vehicles on Eumundi-Noosa Rd to at
times basically stop to allow cars to exit, with the numbers of entry/exit visits increasing to frequent
the service station so does the potential risk of accidents at this point. Also on expansion to allow
the entry/exit option as stated by the developer this will bring the entry extremely close the existing
power pole and again provide another element of risk.

All of this is on top of the current volume of traffic traveling past as well as entering the school
grounds. There have been no safety measures, pedestrian access points or crossings put in place
as part of the proposal and with only one manned crossing on the northern side of the school and
no manned crossing on the southern side of the school or on Goodchap st this leaves students and
members of the wider community walking or riding in the area in a very perilous and dangerous
position.


3. VISUAL AMENITY.
A large service station, with it stark layout and illuminated signage placed on a small lot is
inconsistent with the general amenity of the area. The existing tall native trees on the block provide
screening for the school and to some extent soften and mitigate the appearance of the small
energy substation adjacent. Removal of these large trees will also decrease the ”natural buffer”
commonly used to screen major infrastructure developments in the Noosa area (eg: Noosa
Hospital and Noosa Civic), and the “soft” landscaping proposed by the development will do nothing
to address this issue or absorb the hazardous fumes as proposed by the developer.


4. COMMUNICATION.
There as been a failure on the part of the College Council and Lutheran Church of Queensland as
the land owners to provide reasonable information to the school parent community of the proposal

Page 3

prior to the development application being submitted to council and the notification period
commencing. Although there is no legal obligation for the land owners to do so, one would think
that there would be a greater duty of care and hence communications from all parties due to the
nature of the development and its proximity to the school.
All documentation provided with the application has been produced on behalf of the developer to
ensure their client's application gets over the line. They, in no way have the best interest of the
students and families of GSLC and the wider community who use the school’s facilities at heart
and with such a small window of opportunity to object to the development and the prohibitive cost
to get independent advice the only seems to help their cause.



At the end of the day, no amount of money, any landscaping or buffer zone will ever stop the
hazardous fumes produced by such a development from moving into the school grounds and
impacting on the health of staff, students and wider community. There have been no safety
measures put in place to ensure the well being and safety of students, families and the community
traveling to and around the school and its facilities by vehicle or other methods from the increased
traffic using the site as part of the development and with an approved application in place for the
land opposite it seems somewhat superfluous to requirement.


So in conclusion, based on the information at hand I would implore you to simply ask yourself, “Do
you think the building a petrol station right next to a school is an appropriate development for the
land?” If, like many others and myself you say no then I believe you have no other option but to
reject this application.


Thank you for your time.

Yours faithfully,




Kerrie Reynolds.

A: 8 Bluebell Court, Noosaville, QLD 4566
E: [email protected]
M: 0414 80 30 50