EV station plan pitched as future transport hub

The service station would include rapid EV charging, high-flow truck refuelling, rest stop and refreshment facilities.

A proposed 24-hour service station with rapid EV charging at Pacific Paradise is being pitched as a future-focused transport hub for one of the Sunshine Coast’s busiest road corridors to address pressing needs of the community and motorists.

The development application, lodged for 551 David Low Way, would include rapid EV charging, high-flow truck refuelling, rest stop and refreshment facilities, direct access to the Sunshine Motorway and upgrades to road, cycling and drainage infrastructure through private investment.

Developer Christopher Ferraro, of Primo Property, said the proposal had been refined after previous concerns, with the fast food component removed and the development footprint significantly reduced by almost 70%.

He said the facility would sit on a 30ha parent site, with 27ha to remain open space and the built form covering about 1.24 per cent of the land.

The proposal also includes extensive setbacks, vegetation screening, modern tank and grease trap systems, solar power to generate about 85 per cent of the facility’s power needs, and provision for future hydrogen refuelling.

Mr Ferraro said the site was strategically located between the Sunshine Coast Airport precinct and Maroochydore CBD, near the Bli Bli and Mudjimba interchange.

According to traffic data approximately 60,000 vehicles passed the site daily and the proposal would service highway motorists, residents of Bli Bli, Pacific Paradise and Mudjimba, local traffic and logistics freight.

The applicant says the site sits about halfway along a 75km stretch from Wild Horse Mountain to Noosa, via the Sunshine Motorway, that is without an easily accessible highway service station and EV charging facility.

Economic advice prepared for the applicant argues the main trade area has demand for about 21 service stations, compared with an existing supply of nine, and says truck refuelling and EV charging demand remains unaddressed.

BP Pulse, BP’s electric vehicle charging business, has also provided a statement supporting the need for public EV charging infrastructure on the corridor.

“Despite its importance, at the time of writing there are extremely limited public EV charging options available along this corridor,” bp pulse Australia and bp charge New Zealand general manager Antoine Denis said.

Council has raised concerns about flood-affected rural land, landscape character and whether the proposal demonstrates an overriding need in the public interest.

The applicant argues the revised scheme responds to those issues, with revegetation, screening, a reduced footprint and a compensatory cut-and-fill solution to address hydrology matters.

As identified by independent economic advice, Demand drivers intensifying the need for the proposal include nearby projects including Twin Waters West, the Maroochy River Golf Club expansion, council sport and recreation fields at Godfrey’s Road, the Sunshine Motorway duplication, the Bli Bli bridge upgrade, and growth at the airport precinct. Traffic assessments conclude that these would all generate significant additional traffic volumes along the Sunshine Motorway and David low way which serve as the road frontages to the subject site.

Public submissions through Council’s PD Online close on July 21.

The site is between the Sunshine Coast Airport precinct and Maroochydore CBD, near the Bli Bli and Mudjimba interchange.