City awaits roundabout servo verdict

A decision on the future of a proposed fuel station and lunch bar at Albany’s Chester Pass Road roundabout is set to be delivered today after more than two months of deliberation by the State Administrative Tribunal.

The City of Albany rejected the application for a $2.4 million service station on the busy roundabout in February amid safety concerns, which was appealed by proponent Peter Webb and Associates through the SAT.

The long-awaited verdict on the proposal will be handed down this afternoon following the hearing in late May.

Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington said he remained hopeful of a favourable decision and was confident in the City’s argument that adding more conflict points to the roundabout would result in a safety risk to motorists.

“Busselton have been waiting for a decision for six months so I guess two months is not too much of a bad time,” he said.

“You get anxious and you don’t know but now we have been informed that the decision is on its way and we will have the answer tomorrow (Thursday).”

Main Roads has also previously objected to the proposal, raising concerns a development would increase traffic and create more “conflict points” at the roundabout.

However, this has been denied by the proponent.

The Albany Highway and South Coast Highway intersection, including the Chester Pass roundabout, has been ranked in the top 10 in the RAC Riskiest Roads survey across WA and the second-riskiest regional intersection.

The proposed site on the intersection had remained vacant for more than a decade until a development application was lodged last year.

Mr Wellington said the City would consider its options if the service station and lunch bar was approved tomorrow.

Most SAT decisions can be appealed through the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal.

Mr Wellington said the City would listen to the decision being handed down tomorrow via teleconference, which starts at 3pm and is expected to last two hours.