Bundaberg council to vote on historic home Consuelo amid daycare proposal

The fate of a pristine home built in the early 1900s will soon be decided as Bundaberg Regional Council considers an application for a modern childcare centre.

The stately Bundaberg home Consuelo will have its ultimate fate decided at an upcoming council meeting.

A development application was submitted late last year for 210 George St, Bundaberg West, which stated there were plans to demolish the existing home, Consuelo, and build a modern childcare centre.

Plans to replace stately Queenslander with modern childcare centre

The initial application from Brisbane-based company Uniland Investments proposed to demolish the property which it purchased for $730,000 in April 2022.

If approved the new development for the 90 childcare space centre would include six activity rooms, 18 carparking spaces, one service bay and a 650 sqm outdoor play area.

However, there has been opposition from the community to the plan, with concerns about the loss of Consuelo.

Bundaberg Regional Council received 28 submissions in response to the impact-assessable development, with 18 considered properly made.

Consuelo is one of the Bundaberg region’s most stately historic Queenslanders, but does not fall under any code or overlay for heritage or character.

Councillors met on Wednesday to discuss the application prior to the proposal going to a vote next Tuesday, February 28.

Council’s development assessment manager Richard Jenner told councillors there was no heritage or character overlay that applied to the property and that as a consequence, the council had no “head of power” to protect the home.

Consuelo is named after the outback station where its original owners first fell in love.

It was stated Uniland Investments had noted submissions of concern about the demolition of Consuelo and as a consequence had entered into a contract to relocate the home rather than demolish it as originally intended.

However the council noted there was no guarantee it would be relocated because it did not fall under the heritage code.

In November 2022 the home’s previous owners Michael and Pauline Tanner spoke to this publication about the historical significance of the home, including the bottle tree planted by the original owner.

Other public concerns raised included whether there was a need for the childcare centre, traffic and vegetation.

The bottle tree will fall under landscaping protections and will remain, should the development go ahead.

The council will vote on the proposal on Tuesday, February 28.