A site has finally been selected for a second service station in Weston Creek, but the region's growing number of residents may have to wait another three years before they can start pumping fuel.
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The new petrol station will be located north-west of the Cotter Road and Kirkpatrick Street intersection in Weston and cater for residents living in both Weston Creek and the growing Molonglo Valley.
Land immediately south of the station is earmarked for a proposed fast food outlet to boost the viability of the servo.
Weston Creek's 23,000 residents rely on a single station at Cooleman Court.
Motorists are regularly subjected to long queues and in some circumstances, the facility has run out of fuel.
The decision comes in the wake of a petition launched by Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann almost 12 months ago for a petrol station at the intersection.
Land Development Agency project director Ivo Matesic announced the location of the second service station at the Weston Creek Community Council's Wednesday, April 30 meeting.
He said the land stood out among half a dozen options including possible sites near Streeton Drive due to accessibility and was expected to open in early 2017.
However, motorists would access the facility from Kirkpatrick Street rather than the main Cotter Road.
In the meantime, the next step would be a technical amendment to the Territory Plan to re-zone the space before developing a master plan to assess how the station would feed into surrounding suburbs.
A development application for the site was expected to be lodged with ACT Planning and Land Authority this time next year, while the block was expected to go to tender by the end of 2015.
“We're doing everything we can to bring this to fruition as soon as we can,” Mr Matesic said.
The Economic Development Directorate intended to sell both the station and retail outlet sites as a single entity, subject to planning approvals, but the second business would not be mandatory.
The land was expected to cost somewhere between $2 and $6 million depending on site requirements.
Council chairman Tom Anderson said he was pleased the station would be located at the council's preferred site but wanted to see progress fast-tracked.
“We would like to see it in place much earlier than going to tender in 2015 – we'd much rather see it open in 2015,” he said.
Similarly, Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann was delighted the selected location mirrored the site the community had petitioned for but said a second service station was long overdue.
“Weston Creek wanted a second petrol station yesterday,” she said.
Both Mr Anderson and Ms Brodtmann are calling for a station to be independent of the major supermarket chains to ensure competition in the area.
