A year after the Scenic Rim Regional Council won a court battle to rescind the Beaudesert Pig and Calf Saleyards’ listing in the Queensland Heritage Register, Council has opened community consultation.
The consultation is not to decide what should be done with the saleyards, rather it is to comment on a draft concept plan for a picnic area utilising some of the existing saleyard structure.
It does not appear that any community members were consulted prior to the release of the plans.
A Council spokesperson said Council is unaware of the people involved in the campaign to save the saleyards due to this information being redacted from the information provided.
However, Peter Hayes of Hayes & Co had leased the saleyards for many years prior to their closure.
Sue Harrison and Cliff Kroesen met with Council officers, Mayor Greg Christensen, Cr Michael Enright and Cr Virginia West to discuss the future of the saleyards in 2020.
Petitions regarding the saleyards, signed by a number of ratepayers were also tabled at a Council meeting by Councillor Derek Swanborough on 3 August 2020.
Mrs Harrison, who campaigned to save the saleyards, described the draft concept plan as a waste of money.
“One of the reasons given for stopping the sales was the yards were not up to standard. They could have spent this money to bring them up to code,” she said.
“If they didn’t think it was worth heritage listing, why would they bother doing this?”
The Beaudesert Pig and Calf Saleyards were the subject of a community campaign to save the yards and the fortnightly sales which were run by Hayes & Co.
The last sale was held on 29 March 2021.
The legal fees associated with overturning the Pig and Calf Saleyards’ Heritage listing were $250,000.
There is a $100,000 allocation in Council’s 2023-2024 annual budget for the saleyards.
An email sent from Council’s ‘Let’s Talk’ platform acknowledged the saleyards had value to the community.
“The Scenic Rim Regional Council acknowledges the Beaudesert Pig and Calf Saleyards site as socially significant and valued as a hub for community, agricultural business between farmers, stock agents and others associated with the livestock industry,” the email stated.
Community consultation, which closes on Monday 4 December, focuses on two survey questions with the option for respondents to provide a formal submission.
Members of the community are asked which elements of the draft concept design they like and whether there is anything they would change.
The survey can be completed online via Council’s Let’s Talk Scenic Rim online community consultation platform.
Written submissions, marked for the attention of Beaudesert Pig and Calf Saleyards, can be emailed to mail@scenicrim.qld.gov.au, posted to PO Box 25, Beaudesert QLD 4285 or dropped off at one of Council’s Administration or Customer Contact Centres.
