Plans unveiled for new Highfields drive-through food outlet

Developers have lodged plans for a new drive-through outlet on the site of a fire that destroyed a bakery just north of Toowoomba.

A drive-through food and drink outlet has been proposed at the site of the old Duo Bakery on the New England Highway in Highfields. Designs by Bones Studio.

A new drive-through food and drink outlet has been planned for the site of an old bakery that was destroyed by fire.

Brisbane developers Robert Clouston and Angelos Stramarcos this month lodged an application with the Toowoomba Regional Council to build a 250sq m single-tenancy eatery on the New England Highway at Highfields.

If approved, the restaurant would replace the old Duo Bakery and Cafe, which was removed after a fire started in the home behind it in March 2024.

A 45-year-old was killed in the blaze.

A man has died after a fire broke out in a home behind a Highfields bakery on March 7, 2024.

According to the planning report by Property Projects Australia, the new eatery will open seven days from 5am until 10pm, have a drive-through lane with space for 11 vehicles and 18 car parks on-site.

While the application is impact-assessable, PPA argued the proposed use was consistent with the previous bakery.

“The proposed development provides a non-residential use that is both small in scale and low in intensity, directly servicing the day-to-day convenience needs of the immediate local community,” the report said.

“The previous development at this site was a bakery/cafe, with that building only being removed because (it) was damaged by fire.

“Hence there is an existing baseline and community expectation for the subject site to be used as a food and drink outlet and it is within contemporary community expectations that these uses are provided with drive-through facilities.”

A drive-through food and drink outlet has been proposed at the site of the old Duo Bakery on the New England Highway in Highfields. Designs by Bones Studio.

An acoustic amenity report recommended the installation of 2.4m fencing to reduce the impact on neighbours, while a traffic impact assessment argued the proposal would not “result in any significant safety concerns”.

Reports were also lodged relating to landscaping, civil engineering and wastewater.

A public notification period will need to be run by the developers before approval can be given.

Originally published as Plans unveiled for new Highfields drive-through food outlet