Councillors endorse plan for precinct

A SMALL town’s historical village that is home to five major community groups will be revamped under a $1.4m, 10-year master plan.

The Toowoomba Regional Council endorsed the plan for the Pittsworth Pioneer Historical Village, with $150,000 already allocated in this year’s budget.

The 1.6ha precinct, originally owned by the Kronk Family and gifted to the Pittsworth Shire Council in 1971, is home to five community groups.

These include the Pittsworth Men’s Shed, History Pittsworth, the Pittsworth RSL, Pittsworth Woodcrafters and the local branch of the University of the Third Age.

Regional architecture and heritage acting manager Jade Bebbington, who produced the report, said the framework was created to ensure the precinct wasn’t developed in an “ad hoc” fashion.

“As a strategic document, the Master Plan sets out a structural framework for any future site works, ensuring any proposed interventions address and respond to the overarching site intent – as a celebration of Pittsworth’s pioneering culture and heritage,” her report said.

“The master plan encourages those users to stop and think about what the future use might be to optimise the use.”

A number of changes have already been flagged for the precinct, with works totalling nearly $1.4m.

Top of the list includes the demolition of the caretaker’s cottage, replacing it with a new community building with meeting and conference rooms.

The plan also flags moving an old church building on the site to be used for functions and weddings, with one structure already being investigated.

“Many of the site interventions have been identified with the understanding that the Village is run and managed predominantly through a volunteer program,” Ms Bebbington’s report said.

“While there are additional tasks and roles for council to deliver, there are tasks that can be taken up by the community groups.”

Environment and community chair Councillor James O’Shea said he was excited by the proposal and how it could lead to future opportunities.

“There are so many good community user groups that use the facility and by having a master plan in place, it provides framework moving forward,” he said.