It is spring selling season in the real estate market, and one Queensland council is cashing in on dozens of properties from beloved community halls to “prime” seaside properties.
The Bundaberg region, 350 kilometres north of Brisbane, is where the beach meets the reef and plates are filled with farm fresh produce.
But the local council is struggling to make ends meet.
The Bundaberg Agtech Hub at Bargara will be sold. (ABC Wide Bay: Johanna Marie)
Mayor Helen Blackburn said the decision had been made to get rid of excess land and buildings that were “not being used or being under-utilised and costing council significant money”.
“We haven’t made that decision lightly and we’ve made it as a council because we see that our cash reserves are continuing to decline and we need to try to make sure that we’re making best use of ratepayers’ money,” she said.
There are 26 properties being listed for sale including five adjacent blocks of land less than 500 metres to the ocean in the sought after coastal town of Bargara.
Recent property sales in the same street were between $750,000 and $1 million, according to RP Data.
Council is selling five adjacent blocks of land less than 500 metres to the ocean at Bargara. (ABC Wide Bay: Johanna Marie)
Scott Hamlet and Diana Brown have lived opposite the park for 18 years and were “very disappointed” over the lack of consultation or information about council’s plans.
“It seems a lot of green space in Bargara and along the coast is being used for development,” Mr Hamlet said.
“We would love to have known what the proposal was and to have a voice putting in a concern about that.”
Mr Hamlet said he believed development was good for the area, but it should not be by taking away existing parkland that had always been there.
“It is prime real estate, but we also need to protect those community parcels of land that are there for people to recreate,” he said.
Demand for properties
The council will also sell the former Burnett Shire Council building at 160 Hughes Road, Bargara, which is surrounded by a growing number of residential housing estate developments.
Bundaberg real estate agent Tim McCollum said there were other commercial sites in the city’s CBD that would also fetch the council big dollars.
“Those are certainly prime real estate,” he said.
“People are looking to move to the area to live here, so if council is not using those assets they should look to sell them to somebody who would.”
Tim McCollum says people are looking to move to the area. (Supplied: Tim McCollum)
Waterloo Hall, which opened in June 1911, and St George Hall at South Kolan are also up for grabs, much to the surprise of locals.
Shirley Galea from the Waterloo Public Hall committee said the hall was “the only thing that we’ve got out here that we’re getting from our rates, other than the road”.
“It’s a community hub,” she said.
“It’s just part of who we are and who our community is, and it has been for so long.”
The Waterloo Hall is being listed for sale by Bundaberg Regional Council. (Supplied: Bundaberg Regional Council)
Despite the town’s population of 171 people, the hall’s rural location has been a popular drawcard for weddings and functions, as well as musical performances and small hall festivals.
Ms Galea said the committee held discussions with the council to see if there was a way to avoid the hall being sold.
Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett has also contacted the council about the sale.
Financial struggles
Cr Blackburn said the council needed to find additional revenue and savings of least $10 million due to a reduction in federal government funding and increasing operational costs.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said the Bundaberg Regional Council needs to find new revenue streams. (ABC News: Grace Whiteside)
The council had already scaled back major expenditure projects including the Anzac Park redevelopment to improve its finances, but Cr Blackburn said it was not enough.
“Even though we attempted to claw back the deficit we’ve been hit with a bit of a whammy the other way,” she said.
“The financial assistance grants that comes from the federal government have been reduced by $6.8 million.
“On top of that, we have a waste levy that is looking at hitting us for $4 million a year, increasing every year.
“When you add that up that’s $10 million that we have to find.”
The properties will be available for sale by individual purchase in accordance with council’s tender process.
