“In our view, it’s not going to service us. There’s plenty of things available to the residents in the [nearby] Dromana township.”
Robertson said the new fast-food outlet would be located in a “simple seaside community”, where many people had owned their homes for decades, enjoying the short walk across to the beach.
The location of the fast-food outlet will be less than 100 metres from the water of Port Phillip Bay.Credit: Justin McManus
“We’re not very happy about it,” he said.
The service station is zoned residential and more than 500 metres from other food businesses, however, under planning rules, a convenience restaurant is permitted in the area.
Robertson said the owners of the service station had access to more resources than residents to fight the battle.
AA Holdings has more than 50 BP outlets across Melbourne. Company records show it generated $864 million in revenue in 2024.
An artist’s impression of the proposed BP service station and convenience restaurant at Safety Beach.Credit: Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
“They’re just determined to push it through, and they’ve obviously spent a load of money on getting through to appeal,” said Robertson.
Paul Whittaker, owner of the Dromana Drive-In, said a new McDonald’s would put pressure on other small businesses that were already operating on a knife-edge.
He worried the variety of cuisine would be reduced.
“We put up a strong opposition in VCAT, but we feel ignored,” he said. “They got everything they wanted.”
Mornington Peninsula Mayor Anthony Marsh said the development was inappropriate for that particular spot, citing serious safety concerns about cars accessing the awkward site.
“The plan fails to provide adequate car parking and queuing space to accommodate drive-through patrons and will have a detrimental impact on the surrounding residential area,” he said.
“We are also concerned about the potential for litter to affect the nearby marine environment.”
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Marsh said the second permit application had attracted more than 500 objections, one of the largest responses council had seen from the community.
“It’s disappointing VCAT has not listened to the serious concerns of both council and the community,” he said.
Another objector, John Steele, said there were already several McDonald’s outlets operating on the peninsula, in Rosebud and on the Peninsula Link freeway at BP outlets also owned by AA Holdings.
“There’s no proven need for a McDonald’s,” he said. “Even if there was, it’d be better somewhere else.”
In their decision, VCAT senior member Geoffrey Code and member Kate Partenio said that AA Holdings had dealt with traffic concerns such as drive-through queuing and insufficient parking in their application.
Among the conditions are that AA Holdings must conduct daily litter patrols and not adversely affect the amenity of the neighbourhood with offensive noise or smells.
The Age contacted the lawyers representing AA Holdings in VCAT but they said they did not have instructions to provide comment.
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