{"id":209760,"date":"2018-05-28T22:18:45","date_gmt":"2018-05-28T12:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=209760"},"modified":"2020-08-03T17:36:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T07:36:41","slug":"build-it-and-they-will-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/05\/28\/build-it-and-they-will-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Build It And They Will Come …"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell looks over the site of Kingaroy’s latest service station in Youngman Street, which is being built on a former bulk fuel depot site that sat vacant for more than a decade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 29, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kingaroy is a hive of construction activity at the moment and South Burnett mayor Keith Campbell couldn’t be happier.<\/p>\n

Swickers is making rapid progress on their new $60 million slaughter room, which will increase the plant’s potential processing capacity almost three-fold when it’s finished early next year.<\/p>\n

The first parts of the new kill floor’s metal skeleton have already gone up, and its roof is expected to be finished in mid-July.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Liberty Oil is constructing a modern service station at 125-127 Youngman Street on the site of a former bulk fuel depot that sat vacant for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

And in Kingaroy Street, Astill’s Electrical are building a new showroom and workshop for their rapidly expanding company that will incorporate a storage shed complex at the rear.<\/p>\n

An industrial estate in lower Youngman Street, opposite the ten pin bowling alley, now has a second building awaiting an operator after the estate’s first building was tenanted by Burnett Water Services.<\/p>\n

In the retail arena, McDonalds Family Restaurant underwent a significant upgrade last year; Kingaroy’s Club Hotel is currently undergoing refurbishment; and Ken Mills Toyota’s River Road car dealership unveiled a big expansion in March to accommodate the company’s Kia, Isuzu and Mahindra car franchises.<\/p>\n

Three multi-million public infrastructure projects are also proceeding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week, work started on a new $1.86 million roundabout at the intersection of Rogers Drive and the D’Aguilar Highway – a project expected to take six months.<\/p>\n

Work is also progressing on the $62 million redevelopment of Kingaroy Hospital, which is expected to keep contractors busy until early 2021.<\/p>\n

And Stage 2 of Kingaroy State High School’s $7.5 million performing arts centre is on track for completion later this year.<\/p>\n

This flurry of public infrastructure spending comes after the town’s new $2.9 million ambulance station, its new $8 million police station and the $5.3 million refurbishment of Kingaroy’s courthouse were all completed during the past four years.<\/p>\n

It also comes in advance of the Council’s own plans to spend up to $8 million refurbishing the town’s CBD; Kingaroy SupaIGA’s plan to expand their supermarket with four new mini-stores; and a new Bunnings approved for a pair of vacant blocks near the Rogers Drive estate.<\/p>\n

Mayor Campbell said the number of developments underway in Kingaroy indicated strong faith in the region’s future by the local business community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, they weren’t the only projects happening in the South Burnett.<\/p>\n

A new IGA supermarket opened in Blackbutt last month; work is proceeding on a new service station in George Street, Nanango; Murgon’s IGA supermarket has been given permission to expand; and the Council recently issued development approvals for two piggeries at Hivesville and Windera which will allow them to more than triple their current output.<\/p>\n

Last October, the Council also gave the go-ahead for a 51-unit relocatable home park to be built at the corner of Buckingham and Logan streets in Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

In recent months the region’s flat real estate market has seen an upturn, and Mayor Campbell believes at least part of the turnaround is due to the Council adopting a more pro-development attitude over the past year.<\/p>\n

“When I was elected as Mayor the Council didn’t have a good name with a lot of developers, and I set out to improve that,” the Mayor said.<\/p>\n

“I met with them, found out what their problems were and then looked at what we could do to improve things.<\/p>\n

“I think we’ve now found a happy medium that secures the community’s interests but makes our region a more attractive place to invest.<\/p>\n

“The growth we’re now seeing is a tick for our new approach.”<\/p>\n

The Mayor said the Council doesn’t have any more major project development applications sitting on its books at the moment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, he had heard rumours other regional businesses were also planning upgrades or expansions to their sites in the next few years, and he welcomed that.<\/p>\n

“When I hear people say the South Burnett is dying because retail is going through a transformation at the moment, I can understand why some people might think that,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But the truth is the exact opposite, it’s just that most of the growth is happening outside the retail space.<\/p>\n

“What we need to do now is grow our agricultural capacity through better transport routes and irrigation.<\/p>\n

“We’re an agricultural area and when our farmers do well, our whole economy does well.<\/p>\n

“So that’s something I’m going to keep working on.”<\/p>\n

[UPDATED]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Swickers’ expansion from the air … the company’s new kill floor is already taking shape, and its roof is expected to be finished in July (Photo: Denise Keelan Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Swickers’ expansion as it currently appears from ground level
(Photo: Denise Keelan Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Astill Electrical’s new showroom and workshop is being built on a large empty block at Kingaroy’s Industrial Estate, along with a modern storage shed complex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
After sitting empty for more than 10 years, the Youngman Street Industrial Estate now has a tenant, and this new, large shed is waiting for the estate’s second tenant to move in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The River Road roundabout as it currently appears from Rogers Drive …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
… and how it looked on the other side of the barricades last week, where the site had been graded almost half a metre below highway level<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The second, final stage of Kingaroy State High School’s $7.5 million Performing Arts Centre is on track for completion later this year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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