{"id":259899,"date":"2020-06-19T20:35:16","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T10:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=259899"},"modified":"2020-07-10T12:09:37","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T02:09:37","slug":"fuel-cell-gets-go-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/06\/19\/fuel-cell-gets-go-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuel Cell Gets Go-Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Durong General Store closed in 2017 but the South Burnett Regional Council believes its plan to approve a diesel fuel cell diagonally opposite will enhance the chance of the store opening again<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 19, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Durong will get a 24-hour fuel cell more than a year after the South Burnett Regional Council first began seeking public feedback on the idea.<\/p>\n

The 65,000 litre fuel cell will be located on a Council-owned block at the corner of the Mundubbera-Durong and Chinchilla-Wondai roads, diagonally opposite the former Durong General Store.<\/p>\n

The closure of the store in 2017 – which had been a petrol outlet for the area – forced many locals to drive long distances in order to refuel their vehicles.<\/p>\n

The nearest alternative was 38km away at Darr Creek, and other refuelling options were at even greater distances.<\/p>\n

In March last year, the Council floated the idea of encouraging a fuel distributor to open a 24-hour fuel cell in the area, and sought public feedback.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Mayor Keith Campbell said at the time the corner block site was once used as cattle yards and a dip, but was now used by B-double truck drivers to park their trailers as they ferried freight in and out of the region.<\/p>\n

At Wednesday’s meeting, Councillors heard the initial round of public consultations had drawn concerns from transport operators, who were worried that if the block were sold to a private business they might lose access to the essential truck parking area.<\/p>\n

The owners of the Durong Store building were also concerned the fuel cell would make it more difficult to sell their property.<\/p>\n

Cr Kathy Duff told the meeting she supported the proposal because it would inject more energy into the Durong area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The Durong Store has been vacant for a very, very long time,” Cr Duff said.<\/p>\n

“I think if the truck stop is across the way they will still have the option to sell unleaded fuel because the cell is purely for diesel.<\/p>\n

“I also think it will actually be more attractive to put a shop there because you’ll have a designated truck stop plus diesel there.”<\/p>\n

Cr Duff said the Durong Store had focussed on providing groceries and food more than fuel.<\/p>\n

“It is a sad state of affairs now that the store has closed – there’s not a lot of activity there (in Durong),” Cr Duff said.<\/p>\n

“I’m supportive of something that will bring some more energy into that area.”<\/p>\n

Cr Gavin Jones agreed. <\/strong><\/p>\n

“I understand the concerns that have been raised but I totally agree it has the potential to become a hub,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If I owned that shop I’d certainly be looking at putting a little cafe or restaurant there because there’ll be people staying in the area.<\/p>\n

“I fully support this development.”<\/p>\n

Cr Scott Henschen said he agreed with Crs Duff and Jones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It’s disappointing the store is closed but the fuel cell will only assist in its sale,” he said.<\/p>\n

In reply to a question from Cr Kirstie Schumacher about why Council proposed leasing a portion of the block to a fuel cell operator rather than selling off the land, Community General Manager Peter O’May told the meeting leasing was a way for Council to preserve the truck decoupling area.<\/p>\n

He said if the entire block was sold, a new owner might decide to use it exclusively for their own vehicles or impose other conditions that deprived transport industry operators of the facilities they enjoyed now.<\/p>\n

The solution was to subdivide the block to create a specific space for the fuel cell, then lease that to an operator while the remainder of the corner stayed in public ownership.<\/p>\n

Mr O’May said once the block had been prepared, Council would put the offer to operate an onsite fuel cell out to public tender.<\/p>\n

Councillors voted unanimously to proceed with the project.<\/p>\n