Council to vote on small bar proposal

The proposal is located within the West Street Development.

City officers advised council the proposal was consistent with the relevant planning framework and it was recommended for approval subject to conditions. 

The ground floor of the development proposes a kitchen and wine/beer bar area inside the tenancy with an addition of outdoor seating area. The development has internal access to shared toilets with Health Freak Café. 

Councillors expressed their concerns about the small number of bathroom facilities available to patrons.

City officers said under a Small Bar Liquor Licence, the maximum capacity was 120 people, however, given the small size of the premise, a lower maximum occupancy would be set.

During the consultation process, the City of Busselton received one submission against the proposal which raised concerns about the hours of operation, noise, anti-social behaviour and traffic.

The proposed small bar is approximately 240 metre from the nearest dwelling on Seymour Street. 

City officers said given the distance, and the fact there would be more commercial development along the western section of the overall development site, it was not anticipated that the proposed development would have an adverse impact on these residents in terms of noise or traffic. 

They said council must determine if it wanted to place conditions on the approval that limit the operating hours or if it felt the liquor licence would adequate address these concerns.

“Officers are of the view that no special conditions are necessary,” the said.

“Previous planning determinations made in relation to The Fire Station and The Laundry, which have approvals to operate as small bars, have no planning conditions regarding operating hours.”

City officers said due to the small scale of the proposal, the development would not detract in any significant way from the commercial primacy of the Busselton town centre.