The State Administrative Tribunal were issued an order to make a decision about the 24-hour Puma Energy convenience store with six petrol bowsers on Dunn Bay Road by this Friday, according to City of Busselton director of planning and development services Paul Needham.
At last week’s council meeting, Mr Needham said while the issue was ordered there was still a chance that the tribunal could be given an extension to make a decision.
The State Administrative Tribunal have reviewed the application since February this year, which was rejected twice last year by the Southern Joint Development Assessment Panel.
The developers DCSC Pty Ltd and Puma Energy had sought approval to build a petrol station in Dunsborough’s town centre under the guise of a convenience store to bypass a local planning scheme and zoning use.
There was strong backlash from the Dunsborough community with many people vowing to boycott the store if the development was given approval by SAT.
Dunsborough community group Puma2Go have run a strong campaign protesting against the development which could see a third petrol station built within the town centre.
The community group held two protests earlier in the year to send a message to the judge who sits on the tribunal that the community of Dunsborough were opposed to this development.
Puma2Go spokesperson Trish Flower said it was clear to the majority of the Dunsborough community that a petrol station/convenience store was the wrong development for the Dunn Bay Road location but obviously wasn’t to the tribunal.
“It is sad that flaws in the town planning scheme should have allowed it to get this far in the first place,” she said.
“To pretend this is not a petrol station in the centre of our town makes a mockery of local planning and local planning laws.
“It is extraordinary this decision had been delayed so many times by SAT.”
Dunsborough resident Myles Pollard said at a demonstration earlier this year that at the core of the argument the developers had been deceptive by reclassifying the development as a 24-hour convenience store.
“If they approve this there is something completely wrong with the system and there will be push back on it,” he said.
A spokesperson for DCSC Pty Ltd could not be contacted for comment.
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