TO THE MANOR WORN
Taxpayers prop up tumbledown country estate they never knew they owned
QUEENSLANDERS are spending a small fortune every year on a dilapidated country manor that sits empty in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Springbrook Mountain Manor (above) sleeps 38 people and has its own golf course, tennis court and hedge maze near World Heritage-listed rainforest. The pile was bought and mothballed by a former Labor government in 2007 before an LNP government tried to sell it for use as a resort. The Palaszczuk Government blocked the sale and the manor has now been crumbling for a decade, with taxpayers picking up the bill.
WITH its own golf course, tennis court, hedge maze, worldclass location and homes that sleep 38 people, you might think this property belongs on the cover of the Gold Coast Bulletin’s real estate magazine. But you’d be wrong.
Instead, this multi milliondollar manor on the lush fringe of Springbrook National Park has been empty and deteriorating for more than three years — and you’re paying the $29,400-a-year bill.
Once a standout Hinterland tourist attraction, Springbrook Mountain Manor and its 10 hectares of land was bought by the Bligh Government for $2.9 million in 2007 and has been empty since early 2014.
The LNP Government attempted to sell it in 2014 and 2015, but a deal fell through after the incoming Labor Government issued a blanket ban on asset sales.
They tried unsuccessfully to lease the facility, which needs extensive repairs including a new kitchen and sewerage system.
It is currently in the care of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service whose rangers maintain the property using “a minimalist approach” while the Government decides what to do with it.
“The buildings are in good condition, particularly given their age and the weather events that have occurred at Springbrook,” a statement from QPWS said.
“If the property was to again provide boutique accommodation, significant investment would be required to meet council standards, and to make the property financially viable in the current market.”
Division 9 councillor Glenn Tozer said the idle manor — once a drawcard wedding and conference venue — was a wasted opportunity.
“I’m calling on the State Government to stop talking and start acting,” he said.
“I would hope it’s been maintained to a level that could enable it to reopen as a tourism asset.”
Harcourts Nexus sales consultant Julie Andrews was engaged to sell the property in 2015 finding the eventual buyer who was ultimately not allowed to go through with the purchase.
“It’s a crying shame – it could be a BnB by now if my buyers hadn’t had their contracts squashed,” she said.
“The State of Queensland has some incredibly amazing tourism opportunities that are left there rotting away and they don’t seem to have much care factor.”
Ms Andrews said the value of the property had likely declined from the $2.9 million paid by the government, but that the potential price depended what a potential buyer planned to do with the property.
“Anywhere between $1.8 million and $2.5 million.”
QPWS said the Government was still committed to seeing the site in the hands of someone with an “environmentally appropriate tourism or healthy lifestyles vision”.
“Deliberations are now taking place to determine the best outcome for the local community and for the conservation outcomes this land was originally acquired for.”