Yandina heritage concerns over new servo signage

A proposed six metre pylon sign for a new service station in the heart of Yandina is drawing fire from community leaders who say it ignores the town’s heritage and character area protections.

Developers Pearl Investments has lodged an Operational Works Plan with Sunshine Coast Council for signage at the service station currently under construction on the northwest corner of Farrell and Stevens streets.

The site sits within Yandina’s Heritage/Character Area, at a bend in the road where a downhill gradient and established street trees limit visibility from some approaches.

Marie Reeve, president of the Yandina & Districts Community Association, said the proposed pylon sign did not comply with the planning code in relation to height, setback or surface area.

At six metres high, one metre from the boundary and with a surface area of 10.2sq m, she said it was “too big and too close to the footpath even for a standard setting” and inappropriate for a Character Area with a Heritage Overlay.

“It would dominate the streetscape, overshadowing the restored Feed Barn next door,” Ms Reeve said.

She said the Operational Works application also failed to heed a Planning and Environment Court condition requiring the applicant to “submit and have endorsed by Council, a detailed Advertising Signage Strategy that considers the site’s location as identified within the Character Area and on a Scenic Route”.

Under heritage signage standards, signs should not be higher than surrounding buildings, and larger signs may require professional streetscape or landscape analysis to ensure they do not detract from visual amenity.

The applicant has compared the proposal to signage at the BP further along Farrell Street. However, Ms Reeve said that site was not within the Character Area and reflected an earlier era when the highway ran through town and there were no street trees limiting sightlines.

“In a low-speed environment, large signs are not necessary,” she said.

YADCA has urged council to require custom-designed signage that complements the town’s historic character, and to ensure stronger protections under the new planning scheme codes so similar developments cannot be approved in the future.