Muswellbrook Shire Council has approved demolition of Muswellbrook Squash Centre.
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The facility will be knocked down to make way for a Supercheap Auto store on the site.
Councillors approved the development at Tuesday’s June council meeting.
The development also includes a new carpark and site landscaping.
The existing squash court building was approved in 1979.
Subdivision of the site was approved in May this year to allow the sale of the squash courts.
The land owner has kept the house on the back section of the land.
The new building will be constructed to match the existing neighbouring building, which is currently occupied by Europcar.
The development was before council as it did not meet the car parking requirements for a retail premises under the council’s development control plan.
However, the developer argued the average vehicle movements projected for the site did not warrant 37 car parking spaces.
A report to councillors also said that “unlike a retail shop, customers are unlikely to frequently purchase the products sold”, and “the development is a specialised form of retail, not generalised retail”.
The store will have 19 car parks.
The council approved the development subject to 29 conditions, including sediment and erosion control, construction hours, disability access, advertising signage and boundary fencing and privacy screening.
