By Jeremy Sollars
The Southern Downs Regional Council last week approved a development application for the re-location of local community radio station Rose City FM into a purpose-built new facility, with the cost being met by the council.
The station has been based for many years in the former Rosenthal Shire council building off Willi Street and Glen Roads but will re-locate to adjacent to the Warwick Bridge Club in Victoria Park, off Wallace Street in Warwick.
The re-location will follow the move of the Warwick Men’s Shed and the Warwick Woodcutters from the former Rosenthal Shire depot sheds just to the rear of the current Rose City FM site. Those groups last year shifted to new premises – also council-funded – in the Warwick Industrial Estate.
The move of all three organisations itself comes ahead of a planned sell-off of the Rosenthal Shire depot and offices land by the council, with the combined site being one of Warwick’s prime real estate redevelopment locations.
The land – high on the hill with views across the north and east of Warwick and beyond to the Main Range – is expected when eventually sold to net the council at least a six-figure sum, but no timeframe for the sale has yet been publicly detailed by the council.
The new Rose City FM building in Victoria Park is budgeted to cost $326,000 with funding through the Queensland Government’s Works For Queensland program, as was the funding for the new shed for the Warwick Men’s Shed and Warwick Woodcutters.
As the Victoria Park land is council parkland and the council is funding the new building, the development application was effectively the council applying to itself for approval.
The application was originally classified as ‘impact assessable’, meaning it was required to be publicly advertised with the public able to lodge formal submissions either for or against.
A council spokeswoman this week said no submissions were received from the public on the application, which was approved by council officers rather than being subject to a full vote of councillors at a general meeting.
“The impact assessable application was decided by delegated authority (by council officers) because under current delegations, the decision only goes to Council where submissions against the development are received,” the spokeswoman said.
“No submissions were received in relation to the Rose City FM application.”
Work on the new Rose City FM building must be completed by the end of June this year to qualify for the full state government funding.
It is understood a new transmission antenna will be installed on council land in the Everest Road area in west Warwick.
