STOP THE ASHGROVE MCDONALD’S

A Development Application (DA) for 268 Waterworks Road has been made to Brisbane City Council for a McDonald’s development. This development will remove two neighbouring commercial buildings and result in a huge chain-restaurant outlet on a residential street.

Locals have raised several issues with this application, including:

• One of the things that people value in Ashgrove is its character and focus on small business. This application is being progressed by interstate investors and is entirely out of step of what the local community wants.

• Many of our local small businesses are really struggling at the moment - sales have dropped off and many are struggling to find staff to keep their doors open. They don’t need the competition from a huge multinational – and it’s likely that some will go under if this development goes ahead.

• The DA proposes a new driveway which will allow vehicles to both enter and exit onto Trout Street. This is a tight residential street, with a daycare centre, and one that ironically already has traffic-calming measures in place. Reports submitted by the proposers as part of the DA show an anticipated 850 trips per day (50 per hour), this is an incredible increase in traffic volume.

• A number of developments have commenced construction or are soon to occur in the area, including an aged care residential property with over 200 rooms on Nathan Avenue, and a proposed Coles redevelopment occurring on Harrys Road. Both of those developments are unfinished and we’re yet to see the traffic and commercial impacts of those. For an area with significant existing traffic issues, that’s a lot of development happening, and it needs to be considered in that context.

• Although a lot of McDonald’s packaging is recyclable, there are few public rubbish bins in this area and residents and commercial businesses currently report high levels of litter. The proposed development is 400 metres from Ithaca Creek, a key section of our local waterways. Residents have huge concerns that this development will choke up the waterways and negate local efforts to restore the creeks after recent flooding events.

• There are ethical considerations around locating a fast-food outlet adjacent to a daycare centre, and within walking distance to a primary school when childhood obesity affects one in four Australian children currently.

While this site is privately owned and subject to the owner’s decisions, there is an incredible opportunity to progress a development that is in line with community expectations and adds social and commercial value. None of which is advanced through a McDonald’s franchise.

On a final note, this DA has been deemed “code accessible” under Brisbane City Council guidelines which means the developer is not required to notify the public. Residents only learned about this proposal because they queried a surveyor onsite.

Please help us keep the heart in our suburbs.