Ampol Foodary Gunnedah applys to Gunnedah Shire Council to become 24/7 service station

Gunnedah's Ampol Foodary, located at 21 Abbott Street, has submitted an application to Gunnedah Shire Council to extend its opening hours.

At the moment the service station is open seven days a week from 6:30am until 7:30pm Monday to Friday and 7:30am to 7:30pm on the weekend.

But in a bid to "provide key services to the community" this could all change.

If the application is ticked off by council, the service station would be able to serve customers 24-hours-a-day, every day of the week.

READ ALSO:

It is anticipated that a change of hours will help meet demand.

"The proposal will provide a convenient service for local residents, visitors and passing traffic to access a service station premises at anytime of the day or night," the submission says.

"By providing a 24/7 service, the existing service station will be able to cater for the demands of passing traffic, including early morning and late-night shift workers."

Increasing the store hours will require more staff and will create "positive employment opportunities", according to the report.

"The proposal is considered to be in the public interest as it will deliver a number of public, social and economic benefits, with minimal adverse impacts," the application says.

The increase in opening time was first proposed by the company in September 2021, but with council requiring additional information, the timeline has been pushed back.

If the change of hours is approved, an "acoustic fence" will also be constructed at the site to mitigate late night noise.

A noise impact assessment found during 10pm and 7:30am "sleep disturbance noise levels" are likely to be exceeded for nearby residents, mainly due to trucks stopping to refuel.

A 1.8 metre high, 70 metre long fence has been slated to solve the issue.

"Through the implementation of the above recommendations there are no noise related issues, which would prevent council approval for the proposed 24-hour operation," the report says.

Ampol believes trading 24-hours will have a "minimal impact" on safety and security, with any potential issues to be "managed effectively by the store manager".

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: