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| Simon Rolfe |
In a report to be tabled at this Thursday's Derwent Valley Council meeting in Maydena, planning officer Martin McCance has recommended that councillors approve the application by Humana Pty Ltd to build an unspecified fast food restaurant on the corner of Burnett and George Sts at New Norfolk. In an apparent concession to the concerns of many of the people who lodged written objections to the proposal, Mr McCance has recommended opening hours less than the 24-hour operation requested by Humana.
Speaking at a gathering on the site earlier this evening, Residents Against Inappropriate Development (RAID) spokesman Simon Rolfe said the same report had deemed the development to be inconsistent with the New Norfolk Planning Scheme, specifically on heritage grounds. "But despite this acknowledgement,the development has still been recommended for approval by council, and will be voted on at Thursday’s council meeting in Maydena," Mr Rolfe said.
Mr Rolfe said the RAID group was particularly concerned that comments sought from the Tasmanian Heritage Council had not been included in the report. "Councillors are being asked to prematurely approve the proposal without having access to all of the required information, specifically a crucial Tasmanian Heritage Council submission,” Mr Rolfe said. “The planner has clearly stated that the development doesn’t comply with the Planning Scheme, which leaves the councillors with no other option that to reject the proposal outright."
A petition calling on the council to reject the development application was presented to Councillor Damian Bester, who undertook to table the document at this week's council meeting, which will be held in the Maydena Community Hall at 6.30pm this Thursday night.
Firstly, I hope that council recognises that not everyone is opposed to this development. Secondly, regarding the claimed significance of it being over the road from a claimed heritage site: what difference can it make if there is a supermarket over the road or if there is a fast food site, or ordinary suburban housing? Thirdly, the recommendation to restrict hours to less than 24 hours is probably sensible; New Norfolk is unlikely to generate fast food business through the nigth, so it would be better to close at 10pm or midnight and let the town sleep.
ReplyDeleteHi, it's not claimed, it is recognised. Also the supermarket will not have 8 meter signs, the supermarket does not attract hoons, the supermarker provides fresh food, the supermasrket doesnt sack people when they turn 19. The supermarket is not oppositre the recognised heritage site of the Willow Court Gates. The ordinary suburban housing doesnt have 8 meter signs, or generate the amount of rubbish and litter that this popsed development will.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 10am, please if you are so concernd for Willow court and the like hassle the coucil to do something with that, it's an absolute eyesore. Mcdonalds employess staff to clean up rubbish with-in a set radice around them therefore any rubbish outside this comes back to person whom put it there. And judging by the rubbish issue to date with in the town I can't see this to increase by any great amount to worry the public. And as for this RAID group, GET A LIFE, you have certainly only lived within the 4 boundrys of the Derwent Valley.
ReplyDeleteNot all fast food chains sack people at the age of 19, this is an urban myth. I have known people over the age of 40 working at Maccas in Bridgewater. They pay an hourly rate that compares well with other work available at that level. It is easy for those on government incomes or with established careers to forget what life was like starting out, and sneer at those who work for Maccas and the like, but it is one of the few opportunities for them to work for a decent wage and learn to be service oriented instead of kicking stones on streetcorners, which appears to be what many in the town want to condemn school-leavers to.
ReplyDeleteGo away Mr Rolfe-if this application is refused then it signals lights out for business in New Norfolk.RAID/Council etc have had years to do something about Willow Court and have sat on their hands.The old site is wrecked,move on and concentrate on attracting business into the area.Face the reality New Norfolk is a working class town and like other similar areas,this development is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteHow about the developers/council reference the NSW Heritage council's policy titled "Street Smart; Corporate Development in Historic Town Centres"?
ReplyDeleteThe policy has been endorsed by McDonalds Australia and outlines the principles for designing a new building so that it fits into a significant townscape.
A free copy of the policy can be downloaded here: http://www.shop.nsw.gov.au/pubdetails.jsp?publication=5572
Some quotes from Heritage Tasmanias response, along with a few of my words.
ReplyDelete“We write to provide an initial response. I trust we can discuss the matter further…”
Seems like thay want more consultation.
“It will be useful to acknowledge the importance and values of New Norfolk as an early and historic town of some note.”
He doesn't.
”New Norfolk now retains a critical mass of places of heritage significance.”
“It will also be important to highlight the fact that the Willow Court complex is on the Tasmanian Heritage Register….”
He barely does, but not all of it.
“In this case the impacts would be to the sense of arrival at the gateway to Willow Court, where the context is particularly important in conveying to people experientially the significance of the place.”
“Any development proposed for this site must have regard for the established but fragmented remnant building lines that define civic space. It would be desirable that any development on this significant corner site address the street with a single storey element of a similar massing and scale to the adjacent and nearby heritage houses……”
“a street frontage activated by doorways and windows of a sympathetic scale;”
“..and signage similarly needs to be set-back, limited and kept to a reasonably small scale”
“…signage is not part of this Application and this would seem unfortunate as its control would be potentially quite critical. A development such as this, in an area adjacent to such an important entrance and precinct like Willow Court, means that reasonable and due consideration needs to be given to the potential positive and negative impacts, so the negatives can be identified and mitigated.”
“The most unsympathetic element in terms of the historic patterns is the provision for cars. The ‘drive-thru’ arrangement of the proposed development is inconsistent with achieving what is set out above.”
And the conclusion
“It may be that given these constraints other areas of New Norfolk could be more suitable for the design approach applied in this proposal.”
Pat says:
ReplyDeleteHave the people who think a fast food outlet (such as MacDonalds) will be good for New Norfolk, thought about the effect on real estate values? For years these have lagged behind most other places but now New Norfolk has started to come out of the doldrums. People are coming at weekends for a drive for a pleasant slow lunch, so now of course the big boys want to move in. If this development goes ahead all the small eating places will be put out of business – they're catering for people who won't come to a town littered with rubbish and with the streets full of hoons. In the Blue Mountains in NSW a second MacDonalds was rejected, because among other things the one at Blaxland causes unbelievable littering, noise and anti-social behaviour.
And where are the necessary extra police to come from seeing that we don't have enough now and the police numbers are to be cut? Why should taxpayers have to pay for extra police anyway so that these sort of people can make obscene profits?
Any businesses, (such as chainsaw and brush cutter sales outlets for example) whose owners think visitors are of no benefit to them should think again. Money spent anywhere in the town flows on to everybody. Anyone who doesn't want to believe this should just think about it for 5 minutes. Rest assured that the profits from a fast food outlet will not benefit New Norfolk.
By the way, the Councillors who are in favour of the development live in places like Magra or elsewhere, well away from the proposed site. We're told by some of them that all development is good. But not development of Willow Court, apparently.
Pat -New Norfolk is certainly not out of the doldrums when it comes to Real Estate prices.This is not the Blue Mountains i'm afraid .The profits of said restaurant may not benefit NN but the jobs created most certainly will.You yourself stated "Money spent anywhere in the town flows on to everybody"Doesnt that include fast food restaurants?
ReplyDeleteFurther to my earlier comments about youth employment in fast food business, I was pleased to see in the Gazette today that the planner's report specifically commented on the benefits:
ReplyDelete"He also commented that the application was considered to support the cultural development of New Norfolk by employing and training a relatively large number of people over time.
This will potentially reduce vandalism around the township by employing individuals."
People complain about law and order issues, but oppose things that might constructively help law and order.