Belconnen Community Council wants fast-food chains to leave Emu Bank on the Lake Ginninderra foreshore.
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The council listed the suggestion as one of 40 ideas to help revitalise the central business district in a bold submission to the ACT government on the Belconnen town centre master plan.
"While difficult, the culture of Emu Bank can only truly change if the fast-food chains are encouraged to move to another destination in the town centre," the council submission said.
Belconnen Community Council chairwoman Tara Cheyne said the community view was that fast-food restaurants had a place in the town centre but their current location was not ideal.
"The fast-food places take up some really prime real estate along the lake, where we could establish a premier dining precinct," Ms Cheyne said.
"In addition, they're largely drive-through. We'd much rather reduce the number of cars. But if they're coming by car, spend some time there."
Of the numerous concerns brought to the council, Ms Cheyne said the issue of fast food on the lake was one that emerged constantly.
The amount of rubbish produced by fast-food restaurants was also raised as a problem, she said..
Canberra property consultant Nick McDonald-Crowley said activating the waterfront was a good idea but there were a few legacy issues, which could prove difficult.
"The fast-food restaurants are not ideally located," he said.
Mr McDonald-Crowley said the eateries were popular in the 1980s and 1990s, when affordable land was available on the foreshore, but the situation would be different if those blocks were available today.
The difficulty in changing the status quo was highlighted by urban planner Claire Middleton, who said the release of vacant commercial sites, with crown leases that permitted a "restaurant" land use, could not restrict the opportunity for all interests to bid for such sites.
"Whether you get a McDonald's, Hungry Jack's or a Mezzalira is entirely up to the market," Ms Middleton said.
"No doubt the decision to locate the existing fast-food restaurants along Emu Bank is related to high visibility, convenient parking and intense pedestrian activity, at times, between the University of Canberra's campus and the mall."
Other suggestions from the council included unique and interesting lighting to connect areas of the town centre and turning the former police station in the trades and services area into a mixed-use facility for the community.
The ACT government received 78 submissions, totaling 300 pages, on the plan.