A DEVELOPMENT application now before Bathurst Regional Council finally seeks to redevelop a high-profile highway site (pictured) that has stood vacant for too long on the edge of the Bathurst CBD.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Victoria Park Barracks Pty Ltd has lodged a development application with Bathurst Regional Council to redevelop a 2149 square metre site at the intersection of Durham and Rankin streets for a new Village Bakehouse outlet.
Village Bakehouse started in Dubbo in 1918 and also has an outlet in Orange.
The DA has been lodged as council is also considering an application to open a Taco Bell outlet on the highway at the intersection of Howick and Stewart streets, plus DAs for two new service station developments on the highway at Kelso and Raglan.
Proposed developments such as these offer real hope that the Bathurst region will be in a position to recover more quickly than most once the coronavirus crisis has run its course and local economies start emerging from this forced hibernation.
But what is also rather interesting about these DAs is that they are all on the eastbound side of the highway.
One of Bathurst's geographic advantages is that the city is just two-three hours out of Sydney (depending where drivers start their journey), which is also perfect for local fast food outlets.
Road safety experts advise drivers to stop, revive, survive every two hours or so, meaning this is the perfect spot for a rest and a quick bite to eat.
But all that traffic is on the westbound side of the highway, passing through Bathurst on the way to Orange, Dubbo and other areas beyond.
They would have to cross a busy highway not once, but twice, to access these new outlets, which must be a deterrent.
McDonald's clearly recognised that issue and now has a second outlet open on the westbound side of the highway at Kelso while there are also plans for a second KFC at Kelso to greet westbound traffic.
Perhaps it's just a case of taking the sites that are available but one would have thought the westbound side would be the premium real estate for eateries targeting the travelling public.
Whatever the case, we should all be pleased to see any developers looking for a stake in Bathurst's future.
We might be in a holding pattern for now, but this won't last forever.
