2015-04-28 Planning and Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   28 APRIL 2015


   The proposed service station would achieve sales from fuel and retail goods of $4.83
     million at 2017, increasing in line with traffic growth along the Bruce Highway. An
     estimated $1.45 million of this would be generated by the convenience retail
     component of the service station operation.
   A convenience retail offer is now an essential and virtually inseparable part of a
     modern service station, with the co-location of fast food outlets also increasingly
     common in major highway and arterial road locations. The entry of Coles and
     Woolworths into the retail petrol market has cemented and strengthened the
     convenience retail component of the retail fuel industry. With significantly higher
     margins on convenience retail goods than is achievable on fuel sales, the sale of retail
     goods generates a sizable component of a service station’s profit and can underpin its
     viability.
   Although the service station development is aimed at capturing highway traffic, part of
     its forecast sales will come from Cooroy area residents, particularly as other
     components of the development, such as the carwash and fast food operation, are
     also likely to appeal to local residents and draw them to the site.
   At June 2017, [the fast food component] is forecast to achieve about $1.5 million in
     turnover, with about a third this amount ($0.5 million) derived from Cooroy area
     residents (which is about a 5% market share of available catchment area household
     spending on meals out/takeaway) and two-thirds from highway traffic, caravan park
     visitors and other visitors/traffic through the area.
   There are currently no commercial car wash facilities in Cooroy. The two nearest are in
     Noosaville … The car wash will cater to traffic drawn from the Bruce Highway,
     including caravans and others using the short stay tourist park, as well as Cooroy area
     residents.
   Modern commercial car wash facilities often co-locate with service stations thereby
     enabling motorists to combine vehicle-related services in a single location, contributing
     to consumer convenience and savings in travel times, trips and costs. The proposed
     car wash will provide visitors and residents with a facility currently missing from
     Cooroy’s range of automotive-related businesses.
   The introduction of a modern commercial car wash facility, in our opinion, will have no
     discernible adverse impact implications for Cooroy, and nor would it have any
     implications for Noosa’s centres network.
   The cumulative attraction of the highway-oriented service station, fast-food restaurant
     and tourist park should enable the viable operation and support of the car wash and
     provide Cooroy with a complementary commercial facility that might otherwise not be
     possible were it reliant solely on local residents for its business. The introduction of a
     modern carwash as part of the Myall Street mixed use development augments
     Cooroy’s range of commercial activities and attractions as an urban centre.
Following the submission of the applicant’s need assessment, the State concurrence agency
response was received addressing Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR)
matters. Advice included in the response and subsequent discussions with DTMR indicate
the Department does not consider the development to fulfil a “highway service centre” role
under its provisions and planning for such centres. The Department stressed it would not
support any commercial or third party signage on the highway or on the site visible from the
highway. The applicant has acknowledged the Department’s position and subsequently
applied for simple advisory signage (i.e. blue and white symbols) to augment existing
signage on the highway (shown below). That application is pending approval.




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