By Chris Thomson | posted on August 23, 2018
A GROUND-BREAKING Liberty fuel stop with liquor store, bakery and mini mart is set to replace McKail’s General Store and an existing servo on Albany Highway, but McKail’s will rise again says the project’s in-house developer.
The so-called Liberty Convenience Centre, pictured, will tomorrow be considered for approval by a state-convened assessment panel in Perth.
A spokesman for Liberty Oil said the project would be the first of its scale in Western Australia, with more convenience centres to follow.
He explained that Liberty bought the block and businesses a fortnight ago from former McKail’s General Store owner Don Perfrement.
“When we purchased it, we did a bit of a due diligence on the asset itself and found it hadn’t had any recent investment, so we thought that given the area and the community itself, the facility was due for an upgrade,” the spokesman said.
“It’s certainly a significant investment on our part, but it’s really designed to get it into the 21st century.”
The $3.5 million project, at the corner of the highway and Lancaster Road in McKail, was not advertised for public comment after City of Albany development services director Paul Camins considered community input was not needed as a servo is a discretionary use and a shop a permitted use under the City’s planning scheme.
Mr Camins has recommended that the assessment panel approve the centre.
The planned redevelopment of the 5526 sqm block includes an upgrade and extension of an existing retail building for a new Liberty service station and liquor shop, and an overhaul of the service station bowsers.
Recently, the fuel station was rebranded from Mobil to Liberty.
A report penned by Mr Camins notes the new servo would have a substantial seating area, enabling patrons to eat on site.
“This element is incidental to the service station operation, as it is designed to enable drivers to take an extended break before returning to the road,” Mr Camins advises.
“This is an important element for a service station fronting a regional road, as it assists in maintaining driver alertness.”
The Liberty spokesman said the Mobil service station had been a Liberty one first, and so was returning to its roots.
The outlet is the only one in Albany run by the partially Australian-owned Liberty chain.
He said the outlet at McKail would be the first of a larger scale fuel stop for the company.
“Albany is the first one off the rank, and then we’re going on to hopefully do a whole lot of new sites in Perth and outer Perth,” he said.
“We’ve kept all the staff there; the staff haven’t changed.
“We’re being very mindful that everything we do in that location looks after the existing community that’s based around there, so we bought this business and we’ve basically changed nothing other than the facility itself.”
Importantly, he said, McKail’s General Store would remain.
“We’re going to keep that name,” he said.
“It will be a Liberty brand, but it will still be known as McKail’s.
“We believe we have an opportunity to make a bit of a gateway entrance to Albany there.”
He said he could only see a positive outcome for the suburb of McKail, and Albany more generally.
“It’s great that we’ve re-entered the marketplace,” he said.
“We are a fuel company that’s generally known for our aggressive pricing strategy, which means of course that we’ll look after the interests of the community when it comes to our marketing mix.”
Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington and Councillor Bill Hollingworth, who will participate in the assessment panel meeting via teleconference, are the only elected officials who will get to vote on the plans.
Image:
Render: Fd Architects PtyLtd from development application by Planning Solutions.
