McDonald's bid for Phillip Island restaurant knocked back by council

In short:

Bass Coast Shire Council has rejected a bid by McDonald's to open a restaurant on Phillip Island. 

The application drew an angry response from members of the Phillip Island community.

What's next?

McDonald's can appeal the decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

An application by McDonald's to build a restaurant in the Victorian tourist hotspot of Phillip Island has been rejected after councillors voted to refuse it a planning permit. 

The fast-food giant lodged its application earlier this year with the Bass Coast Shire Council to build a new restaurant in Cowes, which has a population of 6,593.

But councillors unanimously voted to reject the application, saying it was inconsistent with the local planning scheme.

Island ward councillor Tim O'Brien said the proposal failed the community "on so many levels". 

"Where is the community benefit?" Mr O'Brien said. 

"This will be muscling its way into a part of a market it had no part in building." 

Councillor Mat Morgan, who is a Greens candidate at the upcoming Victorian election, said the application "should obviously be rejected" because of inappropriate residential development. 

"There are a thousand ethical and moral reasons to throw this in the bin," he said. 

"We don't want this, we don't need this."

'Just so wrong'

The proposal raised the ire of thousands of residents, with more than 5,800 people signing a petition rejecting the proposal, citing traffic concerns and the threat to small businesses in town.

The no vote came after a recommendation by council officers to grant McDonald's a planning permit, which they found "acceptable" after assessing it against the planning scheme.

Councillor Jan Thompson told the meeting that the decision would likely be overturned on appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), but voted to reject the application anyway. 

The council received 1,543 objections and 32 submissions relating to the McDonald's application. 

The proposed site is home to a petrol station and a vacant plot of land.

Cowes resident and business owner, Trevor Ware, said the community's concerns were heard by the council in rejecting the proposal. 

"We didn't need this and I think the community has done very well to fight it," he said. 

"There's still a big track ahead and [McDonald's] are going to push very hard. We just can't let it just ride through. 

"The way it's been approached and the area that they put it in so close to the school, everything was just so wrong."