Hungry Jacks could soon be returning to Newcastle's western suburbs a development application lodged for a vacant site in Wallsend.
The proposed new eatery on the corner of Newcastle Road and Douglas Street would sit next to the Jesmond Salvos, less than a kilometre from the former Hungry Jacks site at Jesmond, which is now a McDonalds.
Planning documents say the single-storey premises would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include 14 car spaces.
A pre-DA lodgement meeting was held between the applicant Spectrum Retail and City of Newcastle on November 2, 2023.
The council said vehicle access was a "critical element" in development of the site, and also raised odour and noise as other issues in the meeting.
Planning documents say vehicle access is proposed via a two-way crossover on Douglas Street.
"The design provides a designated drive-thru lane with two separate order lanes and capacity for 12 queued vehicles," the documents say.
Newcastle council refused a 2014 DA for a Carl's Junior restaurant on the site due to traffic impacts, remediation and contamination issues and insufficient air quality information.
However the DA was approved by the NSW Land and Environment in 2016, subject to a revised remedial action plan being completed.
The consent has since lapsed as it was never enacted.
In the November 2023 pre-DA meeting, City of Newcastle cited a 2019 letter from the NSW EPA, which said there was the potential for "perched water" impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons, metals and PFAS to extend beyond the eastern and northern boundaries.
The EPA recommended further investigations and communications between the owner and the adjacent land owners.
The applicant's response said a third-party review had been undertaken of the existing contamination reports, which confirmed the proposed development was suitable on the site, provided the actions of a remedial action plan were undertaken.
