Green light for new petrol station

Horsham Rural City mayor Pam Clarke hopes a council decision to green light a new petrol station in Horsham will boost competition and drive down fuel prices.

Councillors at a meeting on Monday night unanimously decided to grant a planning permit application to develop a service station at 52 Darlot Street.

The application included a takeaway food premises and creation of road access and egress onto Darlot and Wilson streets.

Cr Clarke said the project, at a former active service station site, was an exciting one.

“It is a very ugly sight in Horsham at the moment,” she said.

“The new service station is going to be a huge improvement and another asset for the community.

“It will be a 24-hour petrol station, which will be good.

“Hopefully a bit of competition might drive prices down – in Horsham we pay one of the highest prices for petrol in the state.”

The council will make a submission to the State Government on regional fuel prices.

A government committee will investigate fuel pricing discrepancies between service stations in rural-regional locations and those in Melbourne and other regional areas.

Cr Clarke said as Horsham had grown and businesses evolved, the rural city had seen a reduction in the number of retail outlets offering fuel as well as a reduction in wholesale fuel prices.

She said although the council strongly encouraged competition, proposals needed to meet certain criteria.

The council, also on Monday night, voted against a planning permit application for a 24-hour service station on the corner of Dimboola and Wawunna roads.

Company ‘On The Run’, which operates more than 100 convenience service station premises throughout South Australia, submitted both proposals.

“We knocked the Dimboola Road one back because the driveway would have cars coming out onto Wawunna Road, which is a residential area,” Cr Clarke said.

“The application wasn’t for a truck stop, but fuel trucks would be going in and out at different hours.

“There is also a two-storey hotel next door and it’s not fair for that existing business to be next to a 24-hour station, when people would be trying to sleep at night.

“If it hadn’t been a 24-hour proposal it might have been different, but because it was we felt it was inappropriate.”

Cr Clarke said councillors were divided over the decision.

Crs Clarke, Les Power and Mark Radford voted against the development, with Crs David Grimble and Josh Koenig in favour.

Crs John Robinson and Alethea Sedgman were absent from the meeting.

Cr Clarke said the council remained open to future proposals from On The Run or other fuel companies.

“Hopefully the company can come up with another site that is more appropriate,” she said.

“Increasing competition is a good thing and hopefully we will see better prices as a result.”