ANNA Bay residents are urging councillors to reject a proposed service station on Gan Gan Road, raising concerns about flooding, underground fuel storage and holiday traffic.
The application for 146–148 Gan Gan Road includes a service station, convenience store and signage.
Resident Andrew Searles, who is helping coordinate the objection, said a petition opposing the proposal attracted 438 signatures.
He said Port Stephens Council correspondence recorded 131 submissions across two notification periods, with three supporting the proposal.
The petition was available at local shops and may include visitors as well as residents.
“We’re not against development in Anna Bay,” Mr Searles said.
“We’re against storing 100,000 litres of fuel underground on land that floods.”
Mr Searles has a 45-year family connection to Anna Bay and has lived there for most of that time.
He said application documents listed four 25,000-litre fuel tanks or compartments, with the underground storage below the council’s flood planning level.
According to Mr Searles, a Council flood certificate identifies the property at 146 Gan Gan Road as flood-prone, within a low-hazard flood storage area.
He said council engineers raised concerns in September about floodwater carrying oils and petrochemicals into the environment.
The applicant subsequently proposed raising the forecourt spill bund by 100 millimetres, although its revised height remained below the stated flood planning level.
Traffic is another concern, particularly during the summer holidays. Traffic counts were taken during a week in March, while the applicant’s social impact assessment acknowledged holiday demand had not been modelled.
“The traffic study counted cars for one week in March,” Mr Searles said.
“Anyone who lives here knows Gan Gan Road in January is a different road.”
Residents intend to seek an opportunity to address councillors before a decision is reached.
Residents had been advised that planning staff would recommend approval, subject to conditions, and that the application was expected before the council on 8 December.
Shops and cafés would be welcome on the site, but residents opposed its proposed use as a service station, Mr Searles said.
By Althea GUINSBERG
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