Multi-million dollar workers camp given the green light

THE next step in a $120 million workers camp development, which will cater for up to 1292 people, is expected to be completed in Miles before the year ends.

After development started in 2013, Room2move spent $10 million on the project, until those approvals ran out on April 15 this year.

Only land acquisition, town planning, architectural, initial site works, central facilities, utility upgrades and engineering design were completed.

On April 13, 2018, Room2move applied to the Western Downs Regional Council for a development approval for 12 months.

But on May 23, 2018, the council denied the approval.

Room2move appealed the decision and took the council to the Planning and Environmental Court on July 26, 2019.

The council reasoned that, at the time of the development with the coal seam gas boom, accommodation had peaked.

The boom had since ended and the outlook for demand for non-resident accommodation was expected to deteriorate and there was no longer a need.

Judge Williamson QC considered these two points, however noted that a lot of information was based on projections and was speculative and removed from primary sources so was entitled to little weight.

With the 200 beds in workers’ accommodation in Miles at capacity, the judge accepted a surplus of accommodation was needed to provide for unexpected rapid spikes in demand and a failure to provide for those spikes could have a social impact on a small town.