Mayor and outgoing councillors farewelled at last meeting of current term of Cessnock City Council

The last meeting of the current term was held on Wednesday night, when council voted to defer making a decision on the application by McDonalds Cessnock to extend its trading hours from 5am to 1am, seven days a week; and Palmdale Memorial Park and Crematorium's plan to build a 2135-plot cemetery on Wine Country Drive opposite St Patrick's church.

Both applications were recommended for approval by council officers, but council moved to defer the items as it is currently in caretaker mode in the lead-up to the December 4 election.

During caretaker mode (the four weeks prior to the election), councils must not make any major policy decisions, or determine any applications which have been considered controversial (with 25 submissions or more made during the public exhibition period).

McDonalds is seeking to add an hour either side of its current approved trading hours (6am to midnight) at the Allandale Road restaurant.

The premises has been trading from 5am to midnight, seven days a week since May 18, 2020, under the Environmental Planning and Assessment (COVID-19 Development - Extended Operation) Order 2020, which allows approved food and drink premises to operate outside of any approved hours up until March 2022.

Seven responses were received in objection to the proposal, with traffic, noise and litter among the concerns raised.

Council staff said the proposal incorporates "appropriate mitigation measures" to address these concerns.

Councillor Anthony Burke moved that council defer the decision until the first ordinary meeting of the new council on February 16.

"The amount of submissions received was not deemed as controversial by the Local Government Act, but ... we are currently in caretaker mode, and while it's not deemed as controversial, I do believe that this development application is for our community," he said.

Deputy mayor Jay Suvaal moved that the lawn cemetery proposal - which received two objections from the public - be deferred for similar reasons.

"To many councillors this is a controversial development. We have been contacted by people concerned about the development there," he said.

Wednesday's meeting was the last for retiring mayor Bob Pynsent and councillors Mark Lyons, Di Fitzgibbon, Darrin Gray and Rod Doherty (who have opted not to recontest their seats) and possibly John Fagg (who will run in the likely-unwinnable third position on the Liberals' Ward C ticket).

Cr Pynsent said it has been an "absolute honour" to lead the council for the past nine years and three months, and serve 22 years as a councillor.

"It's been a job that I have loved, the interaction with the community. And really, it's a better place than it was nine years ago," he said.

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