Cafe, parking: New expansions in works for Ipswich Jets Club

A cafe, children’s play area, and almost triple the current parking spaces are just some of the new features currently in the works for this landmark Ipswich club. SEE THE PLANS

The Ipswich Jets Rugby League Football Club Inc has applied to get an extra 52 pokie machines.

A landmark Ipswich venue is hoping to satisfy both its customers and its heritage listing with its latest bid for expansion.

The Ipswich Jets Club made its home in North Ipswich in the late nineties, taking over the landmark Hotel Cecil.

The heritage-listed hotel was built in 1887 and has undergone various renovations since, but it still maintains its iconic street frontage and historic charm today.

The Jets Club has since become iconic in its own right, and has respectfully refurbished the hotel in recent years into a new home-base for Ipswich locals to gather over a warm meal and cold drink.

Now, the club is planning to take renovations another step further in a move that hopes to satisfy customers, while still respecting the building’s history.

Renovation of the Ipswich Jets Leagues club in 2018. Picture: Rob Williams

The club submitted an application to the Ipswich City Council on March 28, 2023, requesting to develop a new cafe and expand their parking area.

The cafe would be located at the building’s Lowry Street entrance, and would include a window for street orders and a roof extension over the cafe.

The proposed 240 sqm expansion also includes a kid’s play area and more storage to the rear of the existing building, along with a gaming room extension on the eastern side, and a cool room and plant area on the northern side.

The plans also include a new drop off zone near the parking area and a new rear entry to the main building.

The proposal makes it clear that the expansions are designed to preserve the original building and heritage assets.

It states: “The Hotel Cecil is to be retained with no works proposed to the fabric and areas identified as being of heritage significance.

Expansion plans for Jets Leagues Club, North Ipswich. Picture: Landpartners/Ipswich Jets

In addition to the internal expansions, proposed changes to the parking area would more than triple the current amount of spaces on offer.

The proposal outlines a multi-story carpark expansion that would see the number of spaces increase from 24 to 85.

The Heritage Impact Statement outlines how, with a maximum height of three storeys, the carpark “would not visually dominate the important frontage of the Hotel Cecil.”

“The receding form of the carpark would also blend in with any future multi -storey development on adjoining lots,” it states.

The proposal suggests this combination of “improved” facilities and additional parking will “contribute to the consolidation and enhancement of the inner city’s role and identity”.

The application is currently in the confirmation period and awaiting Council approval.