Shops, cafés and offices in Banana — do you need approval?
Banana Shire Council's planning scheme — the Banana Shire Planning Scheme 2021 — decides whether a shop, café or office needs a development application, and the answer depends on the zone your property is in. Below is what its table of assessment says for each zone; or check your own address.
In a general residential zone code
Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions). A shop, café or office is not a typical residential-zone use and generally needs an impact-assessed development application that is publicly notified.
I don't know my zone — choose my council instead
The zone is on your rates notice, or a Landbrief site report will find it for you.
Zone by zone
Shop / Food and drink outlet / Office. Residential zones first.
| Zone | What the table says | Conditions | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Residential Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 4.2 (General Residential Zone MCU table) | A shop, café or office is not a typical residential-zone use and generally needs an impact-assessed development application that is publicly notified. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: General Residential Zone Code |
| Rural Residential Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 4.2 (Rural Residential Zone MCU table) – any other use | A shop, café or office is not an expected use in the Rural Residential zone and would generally need an impact-assessed development application under the default row. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Rural Residential Zone Code |
| Township Zone Code | Needs a development application (code assessment) Township Zone table | A shop, café or office in the Township Zone generally needs a code-assessed development application. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Township Zone Code |
| Centre Zone Code | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5 (Centre Zone) | A shop, café or office is a typical centre use, generally requiring a code-assessable development application; confirm the specific use row in the zone table. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Centre Zone Code |
| Community Facilities Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5 (Community Facilities Zone) | A shop, café or office is not a typical Community Facilities use and defaults to 'any other use', so an impact-assessable development application would generally be required. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Community Facilities Zone Code |
| Environmental Management and Conservation Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5 (Environmental Management and Conservation Zone) | A shop, café or office is not anticipated in this conservation zone and defaults to 'any other use', so an impact-assessable development application would be required. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Environmental Management and Conservation Zone Code |
| Industry Zone Code | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5 (Industry Zone) | A shop, café or office is generally not a core industry use and would usually require a code or impact-assessable development application depending on the specific use row in the zone table. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Industry Zone Code |
| Mixed Use Zone Code | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 4.2 (zone MCU table) | A shop, café or office in the Mixed Use zone generally needs a code-assessed development application; some may be accepted subject to requirements depending on the use. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Mixed Use Zone Code |
| Recreation and Open Space Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 4.2 (zone MCU table) – any other use | A shop, café or office is not an expected use in this zone and would generally need an impact-assessed development application under the default row. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Recreation and Open Space Zone Code |
| Rural Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.10.3 (Rural Zone) | A shop, café or office in the Rural Zone is not anticipated and generally needs an impact-assessed development application (an office may differ depending on its scale). | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Rural Zone Code |
| Special Industry Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Part 5 zone table | A shop, café or office in the Special Industry Zone is not anticipated and generally needs an impact-assessed development application. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: Special Industry Zone Code |
Overlays that change the answer
The table above is the base case, before any overlay. Flood, bushfire, landslide, heritage and character overlays are the usual reasons a normally-accepted project becomes a development application — add your address above and the tool flags the ones that apply to your lot.
Worth knowing in Banana
Minimum lot sizes are not listed in the Tables of Assessment — they are in Table 6.3.6 of the Reconfiguring a Lot Code, which was not provided. For every zone, subdividing is code assessable where resulting lots meet the minimum lot areas of Table 6.3.6, and impact assessable where any lot does not comply (Table 4.3.1). Amalgamation of lots and creation of an access easement to one lot are accepted/ADSR in all zones. MUIRS ROAD PRECINCT (Rural Zone): the accepted and accepted-subject-to-requirements MCU pathways in Table 4.1.1, the accepted/ADSR earthworks and minor-electricity operational-work pathways, and some other concessions do NOT apply in this precinct; building work in the Muirs Road Precinct not associated with a material change of use is code assessable against the Rural Zone Code. COMMUNITY FACILITIES ZONE Precinct 6: operational work for a municipal waste facility is accepted. Zone-specific material change of use categories (granny_flat, dual_occupancy, home_business, townhouses, shop_office, etc.) are set by the individual zone codes in Part 5, which were not supplied here — rules for those uses will rely on each zone code's table of assessment and default/'any other use' rows. A building approval under the Building Act may still be required even where planning assessment is 'accepted'.
What else you'll need
- Building approval
- Food licence (for a café)
More about Banana
- What can you build in Banana? Council overview and development applications
- Every Queensland zone explained, with what each council allows and the planning overlays that change the answer
- What Banana Shire Council charges for a development application, compared with other councils
- A Landbrief site report for your Banana address — every planning layer that applies to the lot
Other projects in Banana
Granny flatDual occupancySubdivideShed or carportExtensionPoolFence or wallHome businessTownhousesClear treesDemolish
The statewide position on this project: Shop, café or office in Queensland.
Read from the Banana Shire Planning Scheme 2021 tables of assessment. General information, not advice. The council's planning scheme and the Planning Act 2016 decide — confirm with the council or a town planner before you build.