There was an outpouring of community opposition to the proposed demolition of Skimmos in South Lismore last year, but in the end, Mother Nature intervened.
The building was destroyed in the February flood, and while that meant the end of the much-loved takeaway, it raised more concerns about whether the site was appropriate for a service station and 7-Eleven.
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Plans for the development on the corner of Union St and Elliott Rd were unpopular with fans of the takeaway, with concerns raised over traffic congestion at the main road intersection as well as environmental impact and flooding.
The DA was initially knocked back by the council in October last year, but the Spectrum Retail Group appealed the decision in January.
Now, the DA has been approved, but must comply with a number of conditions designed to limit noise, traffic issues, and impact on the environment.
Acoustic barriers will be employed to help limit noise, and the median splitter on Union St will be extended to help limit disruption to traffic, as some of the measures the DA must comply with.
Extensive flood protection conditions have also been imposed with the aim to protect the building and its occupants in the event of flood, and to ensure it does not impact on the environment.
Those measures include emergency fuel shut-off valves, buoyancy activated barriers, and flood proof doors, as well as a roof top flood refuge area.
The refuge will be accessed via a ladder and includes a storage box with drinking water, torch, batteries and radios able to communicate with SES in the event of an emergency. The flood refuge was to be designed to allow easy access for rescue by SES should the need arise.
The conditions determine this refuge must be no lower than 13.2m.
Also, the fuel system must be installed with an emergency shut off valve to prevent a fuel spill during a flood.
While some of the flood measures only offer protection to the 1-in-500 year flood level of 13.2m, the building must be able to withstand the maximum possible flood height of 16m.
The council notes: "The site is subject to frequent and severe flood impacts. Measures approved shall mitigate some impacts, however, severe flood impacts shall still occur. The occupier of the site must accept the operational and economic impacts of flooding on the site and hold Council blameless in the event of economic or other impacts".
