🚫 Keep McDonald's Out of Noraville – Protect Our CommunityNoraville and Toukley are proud coastal communities built around local businesses, community connection and a distinctive village atmosphere. We believe the proposed McDonald's development at 370–372 Main Road threatens the character and future of our local area.

This is not simply about opposing a fast-food restaurant. It is about whether a development of this scale, nature and intensity is appropriate for this particular location.

Despite significant community opposition and Council's original refusal, McDonald's has returned with an amended proposal featuring a redesigned building, updated landscaping, a narrower driveway and a new commercial tenancy.

While these changes may make the development look more appealing on paper, a new architectural render does not resolve the fundamental problems with the proposal.

🚨 What Has Actually Changed – And What Hasn't?
There are still significant questions surrounding the development that deserve proper consideration.

🚗 Traffic Generation and Congestion

The original SLR Traffic Impact Assessment (December 2023) adopted a peak-hour generation rate of 183 vehicle movements per hour – approximately three movements every minute.

The amended traffic report by Colston Budd Rogers & Kafes (7 October 2026) instead estimates approximately 70 additional vehicles per hour through the Main Road/Evans Road intersection. These are different measurements, and the documentation does not clearly reconcile the development's overall peak-hour traffic generation.

🚧 The Driveway and Aldi Intersection

Although the proposed driveway has been reduced from three lanes to two, it remains approximately 40 metres from the Main Road/Evans Road intersection and in close proximity to Aldi's existing driveway.

The amended report identifies average southbound queues of two vehicles (14 metres) and 95th-percentile queues of four vehicles (28 metres). These estimates underpin the conclusion that queues will not extend back to the proposed access.

Furthermore, the submitted vehicle swept-path drawings explicitly state: "SKETCH PLAN ONLY" and that the proposed traffic measures are "CONCEPT ONLY". They are not intended for compliance certification or construction.

Is a conceptual design sufficient to demonstrate that vehicle movements will operate safely in this already constrained location?

🔊 Noise and Residential Amenity

A redesigned façade does nothing to eliminate the operational noise associated with a high-turnover drive-through restaurant.

Vehicle engines, ordering facilities, headlights, deliveries, waste collection, outdoor dining and customer activity all have the potential to affect surrounding residents.

The acoustic impacts must be considered alongside the actual operation of the business, not simply the appearance of the building.

🏪 Economic Impacts and Local Businesses

The introduction of a major multinational corporation into our small commercial precinct raises legitimate questions about the long-term economic implications for existing independent businesses.

The amended traffic report identifies the proposed additional commercial tenancy as an office, not retail. This raises questions about whether the redesigned frontage will genuinely contribute to the active, locally focused shopping environment our precinct needs.

Our local businesses are part of what makes Toukley and Noraville special. We should be considering their long-term future, not just accommodating another multinational chain.

👨‍👩‍👧 Social Impacts and Community Safety

The development sits directly beside Toukley Public School, with children and families regularly using the surrounding footpaths and pedestrian crossings.

The amended proposal also retains an elevated outdoor dining balcony facing towards the school.

Questions remain about overlooking, privacy, outdoor dining activity and the broader impact of introducing a high-turnover commercial operation into such a sensitive community setting.

♿ Accessibility and Inclusive Design

The amended building relocates the customer entrance to the Main Road/Evans Road corner, with access to the upper restaurant level via stairs and a single lift.

The community deserves confidence that people with disabilities, mobility limitations and families with prams can access the premises reliably, including when the lift is unavailable.

🌳 The Character and Future of Our Precinct

The East Toukley Precinct 8 Planning Strategy envisages a low-scale, pedestrian-oriented village environment with active street frontages and community interaction.

A vehicle-dominated drive-through development does not automatically become compatible with this vision because its exterior has been redesigned.

The fundamental question remains: does this development contribute to the future we want for our community?

❤️ This Is About More Than One Development
We acknowledge that McDonald's has made amendments to its original proposal. However, addressing individual design concerns does not automatically resolve the broader suitability of the development.

The location has not changed. The surrounding community has not changed. The school, Aldi, residential neighbourhood and busy intersection are all still there.

We should not have to compromise the character and future of our community simply to accommodate a development of this scale.

✊ What We Are Calling For
We are calling on Central Coast Council and the relevant decision-makers to:

Properly scrutinise the outstanding impacts of the amended development.
Consider the long-term economic, social and environmental implications for our community.
Ensure the proposal is genuinely consistent with the intended character of the East Toukley precinct.
Refuse the development if its fundamental impacts cannot be satisfactorily resolved.
Sign this petition and stand with our community.

Let's protect our local businesses, our neighbourhood character and the future of Noraville and Toukley.

Noraville is not just another development site. It's our home.