A proposed 24-hour food and drink outlet with a drive-through has been dropped from plans for a commercial development.
The site at 11 South Coolum Road, Coolum Beach, has instead been substantially redesigned around childcare, health, fitness, office and retail uses.
Applicant SCR Projects Pty Ltd lodged the change on October 20, stating it responded to public submissions and council’s further advice by replacing the shopping centre and drive-through with “community-serving, code assessable uses”.
It marks a significant shift from the original proposal submitted in April, which included a 236sqm fast-food outlet expected to be operated by Hungry Jack’s.
That outlet was proposed to trade 24 hours a day and include a drive-through capable of holding at least 12 vehicles, alongside other retail tenancies and 91 car parks.
The application subsequently went through public notification in August before reaching the decision stage.
But Sunshine Coast Council raised further concerns in September about the drive-through and the way the development had been characterised as a shopping centre.
In advice to the applicant, Council said the proposed food and drink outlet was “not integrated with the other tenancies on the site and would operate as a separate land use”.
“This is primarily due to the food and drink outlet being located in a completely separate building and including a drive-through facility, which impacts the nature of its operation and emphasises its separation from the other retail tenancies proposed to form part of the shopping centre,” it stated.
Council told the applicant it could separately identify the drive-through outlet as its own land use or alter the development so it met the definition of a shopping centre, including by “removing the drive-through component from the proposal plans”.
It also highlighted the response received during public notification.
“The majority of public submissions received in relation to the application identified a range of community concerns regarding the proposed food and drink outlet incorporating a drive-through, including potential impacts on the local area and its character,” the council stated.
Council described a food and drink outlet incorporating a drive-through as an inconsistent use on the site and said it was not intended within either the Local Centre Zone or District Centre Zone in the Coolum Local Plan Area.
It said additional justification would therefore have been required to demonstrate an overriding planning or community need if the use remained part of the proposal.
Rather than continue with that version, the applicant has lodged new plans for the development.
Architectural plans show about 299sqm of shops and retail space, a 719sqm gym, an 862sqm childcare component and about 479sqm allocated to medical and another shop tenancy.
Total gross floor area is shown as about 2359sqm, with 104 car parks, 12 motorcycle spaces and 31 bicycle spaces.
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The new layout is materially different from the earlier shopping-centre concept, which had placed the standalone fast-food building and drive-through at the front of a broader retail development.
Council has determined the October changes are not a minor amendment, meaning the assessment process has restarted from the beginning of the confirmation period.
The change has also shifted the application from impact assessment to code assessment, removing the requirement for another public notification period.
People who made submissions on the original proposal have been advised their submissions will remain on file to inform the council’s assessment, although submitter appeal rights do not apply to the changed code-assessable application.
