Tick for racecourse servo

Council has approved an application for a service station on Pakenham's Racecourse Road. 156499_02

By Bonny Burrows

Cardinia Shire Council has approved the development of another service station on Racecourse Road Pakenham, despite strong community objections.
Councillors voted in favour of the controversial development, which includes a service station, advertising signs and road access at 34 Racecourse Road, six to three at the 20 February council meeting.
The application attracted 70 objections, the majority from residents of the Cardinia Lakes Retirement Village located next door to the proposed site, raising concerns of traffic, noise, security and pollution.
Port Ward councillor Graeme Moore said he voted in favour of the project as it ticked all the boxes of the planning scheme.
“Because the land is zoned as Industrial Zone 1 we can’t actually dispute the right for someone to build an industrial type business on the land, as it’s zoned that way,” Cr Moore said.
While sympathetic to the neighbouring retirement village, Cr Moore said the application was not “for or against a service station”.
“It’s not the service station we’re approving; it’s the actual use of the land. We have no control if it’s a servo, a McDonald’s or an industry building that’s built because the land governs the zoning,” he said.
He said council approving the application also ensured it wasn’t taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal where it would be “rubber-stamped with no conditions”.
“We’ve got 35 conditions on that application. Letting it through (council) means we have some control on what happens on that block of land,” Cr Moore said.
Conditions imposed by council include the installation of vapour recovery equipment to prevent fuel odour from entering the atmosphere, the competition of a vegetation survey, sign lighting restrictions to minimise impact on neighbouring properties and planning approval by VicRoads among others.
Cr Moore said he was confident objectors’ concerns were addressed in these conditions.
“When you get 70 objections you really need to step up and take note. I’d like to thank the objectors for their input on this proposal,” he said.
He said one positive of the project for village residents was the construction of traffic lights and an intersection for safety.
“Now they’ll be able to walk to the garage to get their milk, so it’s not all negative,” Cr Moore said.
Developer ONORC Pty Ltd has two years to begin works on the service station, which must be completed within four years or the permit expires.