Planning proposal for fast food store

Gosford Council has decided to submit a planning proposal to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure which could see the construction of a fast food outlet on Ocean Beach Rd, Umina.

McDonalds Australia asked the council to rezone five house sites it owns from residential to general business under the Gosford Planning Scheme Ordinance so it can be used as a "McDonalds operation".

The sites are between West St and Wellington St and abut the Woolworths service station and the Coles supermarket.

The application was made "due to the uncertainty associated with the timing of finalisation of the draft Gosford LEP 2009 and the need for the owners to proceed with the development of the site at the earliest opportunity".

Under the draft LEP, the house sites would be zoned for business use.

The proposal claimed a McDonalds adjacent to the existing commercial centre would employ 130 full time and part time employees in the younger age bracket and contribute $1 million to the local economy in wages.

The applicant has indicated that completion of the planning proposal would enable development on land to proceed providing important economic benefits for the local area.

The council decided that if no submissions on the proposal were received, it would be forwarded to the Department "in order to make the plan".

Gosford Council Agenda, ENV.51, 2 Aug 2011