Business
26 July, 2024
No-go for fast food proposal
TWO fast food outlets proposed for Pease St at Manoora opposite Piccone’s IGA shopping centre have been knocked back by Cairns Regional Council.
The two drive-throughs on either side of Patience St, directly opposite the Edge Hill Tavern, would have taken out four dwellings.
Patona Development Pty Ltd had applied for a material change of use for the two food and drink outlets. The sites are zoned medium density residential.
The application received 61 submissions – 60 of which were against the development.
Cr Anna Middleton, whose division includes the properties, said the proposal was not appropriate on residential land, particularly when there was plenty of space available on Piccone’s IGA shopping centre site.
She said the region was in a housing crisis and the four properties already had houses on them.
Cr Middleton said the community was clearly against the development.
She said the application was outside the council’s planning scheme and the refusal was “good public policy”.
Cr Matthew Tickner said the retention of medium residential density land in the city was “most important”.
He said the properties were “perfectly positioned for medium density housing”.
Council planning director Ed Johnson said, while there was a need for fast food outlets, there was plenty of appropriately zoned land for the development.
He said it was “difficult to mitigate” the proposal with lighting, noise and traffic impacts on neighbouring residential areas.
He said the four properties were “great residential sites”.
Environmental advocate and former mayoral candidate for Community First Denis Walls, who campaigned against the proposal with his division 7 candidate Renee Lees during the election campaign earlier this year, said the council had made “a good decision”.
“We are very happy it’s been knocked back,” he said.
Mr Walls said it was “clearly inappropriate” for the area which would have meant vitally-needed housing would have disappeared.
He said the city was in the midst of a housing emergency but “not a fast food outlet crisis”.
Mr Walls said door-knocking revealed the community’s opposition to the proposal, particularly when there were many other similar outlets nearby, including Dominos and McDonald’.
