Green light for more eateries
TWO new drive-through eateries will be added to a major Toowoomba fast food precinct, after Toowoomba Regional Council approved them in defiance of its officers’ recommendation.
Councillors at February’s special meeting moved to approve the two proposals for restaurants, both located on Bridge St in Wilsonton.
One application by Corkal Investments was a 200sq m project slated to become a Mad Burger franchise on a site next to the Red Rooster, while the other by The Motel Unit Trust was a 300sq m restaurant to fill two lots opposite the Wilsonton Shopping Centre and backing onto the Toowoomba Aerodrome.
It came two months after the councillors voted to defer their decision, after council officers recommended the applications be refused.
The area around the Wilsonton Shopping Centre will include nearly a dozen national food brands soon, including McDonald’s, KFC, Hungry Jack’s, Guzman Y Gomez, Starbucks, Super Rooster and Red Rooster.
Planning and development chair councillor Megan O’Hara Sullivan said the outlets would contribute the economic prosperity driven by the Wilsonton precinct, which was worth $55m in 2021.
“Both of these sites are either adjacent or very close to existing eateries along Bridge St and near the Wilsonton Shopping Centre,” she said.
“It is a growing retail and commercial precinct very close to the Toowoomba Aerodrome and is becoming less suitable for housing over time. Council is confident the conditions attached to the approvals for both of these developments will manage the impacts on the community both during construction and in the ongoing operation of these food outlets. These sorts of retail/commercial sites bring jobs to the Toowoomba Region and help to contribute to our strong economy.”