Business
15 July, 2026
24-hour Hungry Jack's proposed for Moss Vale as dozens object
A Hungry Jack's restaurant with a 24-hour drive-thru could soon be coming to Moss Vale, with plans lodged to build the fast-food outlet at 211-213 Argyle Street.
A Hungry Jack's restaurant with a 24-hour drive-thru could soon be coming to Moss Vale, with plans lodged to build the fast-food outlet at 211-213 Argyle Street.
The proposed restaurant would occupy a prominent Argyle Street site, with vehicle access from the quieter Hawkins Street.
The proposal comes just metres from the site of a proposed Woolworths supermarket and retail development that was refused by Wingecarribee Shire Council and is now before the NSW Land and Environment Court.
The development application proposes demolishing the existing building and constructing a purpose-built Hungry Jack's restaurant featuring indoor dining, a drive-thru, car parking, landscaping and signage.
If approved, the restaurant dining area would operate from 6am to 11pm daily, while the drive-thru would trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Traffic is expected to be one of the key issues considered during Council's assessment, with the applicant submitting a detailed Traffic Management Plan as part of the proposal.
According to the plan, deliveries would be scheduled outside the restaurant's busiest trading periods, with no deliveries proposed before 7.30am, between 11.30am and 2pm, or after 5pm.
The restaurant is expected to receive between three and four supply deliveries each day, depending on trading volume, with delivery vehicles generally ranging from five to 12.5 metres in length and remaining on site for between 10 and 25 minutes.
Waste collection vehicles would attend the site four to six days a week, while other servicing, including waste oil collection and gas deliveries, would occur less frequently.
The application concludes that because deliveries and waste collections would occur outside peak customer periods, "it is not anticipated that any traffic issues will result with respect to the heavy vehicle access to the Hungry Jack's site."
Despite those assurances, the proposal has attracted dozens of public submissions, with many objecting to the development over concerns about increased traffic, noise, the character of Moss Vale and the impact on existing local businesses.
In a submission to Wingecarribee Shire Council, Hawkins Street resident Robyn Ivey said it was already difficult to turn right from Hawkins Street onto Argyle Street.
"This development cannot proceed. Why? TRAFFIC! I cannot exit Hawkins St by turning right at most times during the day," she wrote.
Mrs Ivey said she had lived in the area for six years and believed traffic had steadily increased during that time.
She also questioned whether another multinational fast-food outlet was needed in Moss Vale, saying the town already had McDonald's, Domino's, Subway and KFC within walking distance.
"I moved to Moss Vale for a quiet life in a beautiful small town which is being turned into another Campbelltown! We have had to fight Woolworths, Repoly, Ashbourn and now Hungry Jacks!" she wrote.
Another Hawkins Street resident, Michael Kolotas, also objected to the proposal.
Mr Kolotas raised concerns about increased traffic congestion and vehicle movements in the surrounding area, noise from customer vehicles, drive-thru operations and delivery trucks, light spill from signage and external lighting, and the potential impact on the amenity of neighbouring residential properties.
"I request that Council carefully assess these impacts before determining the application," he wrote.
Moss Vale resident Edna Carmichael also lodged an objection, arguing the proposal was inconsistent with the character of the Southern Highlands.
"The Highlands Character is not one of fast food chains and certainly not one of them lining our streets," she wrote.
Mrs Carmichael also raised concerns about increased traffic along Argyle Street and Sutton Road, pressure on the already congested Argyle Street/Sutton Road roundabout, the impact on existing local takeaway businesses and whether Moss Vale needed another major fast-food chain.
"Moss Vale already has McDonalds, Subway and KFC so there is choice," she wrote.
She also argued the proposal could place additional pressure on long-standing local food businesses and concluded: "I believe I have made a good case for this development to be rejected."
The objections reflect a range of concerns, but traffic, the proposed 24-hour drive-thru, and the impact on the surrounding area are recurring themes throughout the submissions received by Council.
The proposal is currently on public exhibition, with Wingecarribee Shire Council to determine the application following consideration of the submissions received.
If approved, it would become Moss Vale's first Hungry Jack's restaurant.
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