July 21, 2016
The Proston Men’s Shed will get a permanent home after the South Burnett Regional Council voted to give the group a long-term lease over a section of Proston’s Railway Park.
The group had asked the Council to give them either title to a portion of the parkland or a long term licence to occupy so they could secure grants for a shed and equipment.
At present the group meets twice a week at the Old Railway Office – the former Proston railway station – which is a central feature of the park.
However the building is also used by other community groups.
The Men’s Shed said they wanted to secure title to an area near the Old Railway Office big enough to allow them to erect their own 6 metre x 18 metre shed.
They would use this new shed for meetings, workshops and equipment storage, freeing up the Old Railway Office for everyone else.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Councillors were told that while any disposal of Council land generally required a tender process, the Local Government Regulation 2012 allowed tendering to be set aside if the land was transferred to a community organisation.
However officers recommended that rather than split up the park, the men’s shed group be given a standard licence to occupy the land it was seeking.
Councillors voted to grant the licence for $82.50 a year on the proviso the group took over responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of the land and any infrastructure they built on it.
The Men’s Shed would also have to obtain all the necessary building and plumbing approvals for their shed when it was ready to erect.
For its part, the Council would contribute $2000 for the cost of surveying the site to ensure the proposed shed site didn’t affect any existing sewage or park infrastructure.
Cr Kathy Duff said the decision was a “good news story” for Proston.
Railway Park was extensively upgraded in 2013 in a joint project between the South Burnett Regional Council, Stanwell Corporation’s Tarong Community Partnership Fund, Smithfield Feedlot and eleven Proston community organisations, along with individuals and local businesses.
Cr Duff said the location the group had in mind for the shed wouldn’t affect the amenity of the park, but would definitely improve the Proston Men’s Shed’s operations.
