Dunsborough has an anxious wait on its hands after the Supreme Court reserved its decision on an appeal against the proposed 24-hour Puma petrol station/convenience store planned for the town centre.
With more than 99 per cent of the town opposed to a third petrol station in the main street, residents must now wait to see if the court sends the proposal back to the State Administrative Appeals tribunal.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Smith said Monday she would consider the matter carefully and deliver the judgement in due course.
The hearing centred on whether the City of Busselton’s new service station definition overruled an earlier SAT decision that allowed a six bowser petrol retail operation to be called a convenience store.
Dunsborough action group Puma2Go spokesperson Tony Sharp said Puma and the developers should stop wasting taxpayers' money, and build the new petrol station out in the light industrial area.
"Enough money and energy has been wasted on this unwanted development and it's time for a rethink.”
A recent online and offline survey conducted by the group indicated 99.2 per cent of residents in Dunsborough and Yallingup want the new petrol station in the LIA, not in the middle of town where two existing stations were already located.
Puma2Go says a third petrol station would make the already congested town centre intolerable at peak times, with caravans, boats and trucks clogging Dunn Bay Road.
"This planned development has dragged on for over two years and Puma2Go is calling on both parties to drop the development,” Mr Sharp said.
“If Puma doesn’t move soon to the LIA another petrol company will take that location and Dunsborough risks being landed with a six bowser white elephant in the middle of the town."
The community group is calling on the developers, DCSC, to work with the city in creating a private and public space, including the new town library and arts complex along with residential and office space.
"If both Puma and DCSC took their heads out of the sand, they could create a situation where both parties, along with the community win," Mr Sharp said.
