2 days ago
A plan to build a McDonald's in this beachside town received 1,500 objections... locals are fuming over the final decision
The residents of a small beachside suburb are devastated after losing a six-year fight against a McDonald's being built in their community.
A BP service station in the community of Safety Beach, located on the Mornington Peninsula's southeast coast, is set to undergo an upgrade.
The new pit stop will include a 24-hour convenience store and drive-through fast food restaurant.
Despite being twice rejected by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and receiving 1,500 objections from the community, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved the construction this month.
Applications for the building began in 2019.
While the tenant for the available drive-through restaurant hasn't been confirmed, it is believed the site will become a McDonald's.
The news has been met with fury by locals who believe the location of the soon-to-be McDonald's will cause significant traffic and litter problems.
Safety Beach BP sits just 100m across from its famous beach, which is visited by thousands of tourists every year.
Mayor Anthony Marsh said BP's upgrade, pushed by site owner AA Holdings, was a 'step too far'.
'It's a bit quiet now in mid-July, but if you were to come back in five months you'd find cars banked up for hundreds of metres on some days,' Marsh told Nine News.
'We're 100m from the beach so litter is a massive problem, particularly in a place like the Peninsula where we love our beach and our nature.'
He added the introduction of a fast food chain would steal money from the pockets of small business owners.
'We've got a lot of traders that rely on that summer trade to survive the whole 12 months,' Marsh said.
AA Holdings owns more than 50 BP outlets across Melbourne and generated $864million in revenue in 2024.
Andrew Robertson, a member of the Safety Beach Foreshore Landscape Committee, believed AA Holdings' money is what saw the application finally approved.
'They're just determined to push it through, and they've obviously spent a load of money on getting through to appeal,' he told The Age.
The disgruntled resident added the 'simple seaside community' didn't need a fast food chain.
'It's an established residential area that doesn't need this facility,' Mr Robertson said.
'In our view, it's not going to service us. There's plenty of things available to the residents in the [nearby] Dromana township.'
VCAT senior member Geoffrey Code and member Kate Partenio found AA Holdings had sufficiently addressed concerns about traffic and parking.
It also implemented a condition requiring AA Holdings to conduct daily litter patrols.
