Boutique beers to wake up Logan night-life
A southside city, which has the reputation of being shut at night, is being shaken to life after the local council overhauled laws to allow boutique breweries to open in semi-industrial areas.
Logan
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More boutique breweries, less crematoriums in residential areas, and venues open until late at night.
These are some of the changes that come into effect in Logan on Monday, when the city updates its planning scheme.
It will be the eighth version of the scheme and the first amendments since the new council started in April.
Slashing red tape, to make it cheaper for small-scale breweries to set up was high on a list of priorities when the council was drafting the planning changes in 2018.
Logan manager for economic development and strategy David Radich said the latest changes would allow small-scale breweries to open up in centres near restaurants and bars.
“This will support the night-time economy,” he said
“When we held our city centre summits, some of the key themes that we found were that there was not too much to do in Logan after dark.
“We were hoping that with the reduction of some red tape we will see some new places where people can eat and drink at night.”
Monkey Tree Brewing Company owner Dean Forte welcomed the changes and said he looked forward to the council setting up a team to rev up the city’s night life.
Mr Forte, who employs 10 staff, said he was keen to expand his Compton Rd niche brewery.
“Lots of people have asked for more to do at night and supporting microbreweries is a step in the right direction — we just need to know how the council plans to do it,” he said.
“We look forward to hearing ideas from council about how we can get a more active and entertaining night life happening.
“I would love to see a live entertainment precinct in Underwood, which is a semi-industrial area but still close enough to residential areas for it to be a success.”
Another suggestion was to have a spin-off event to the city’s popular monthly Eats and Beats food and music event called Beers and Beats.
Monday’s changes will also bar retirement villages and schools from being built next to factories and in areas such as the Berrinba industrial estate to protect jobs.
Crematoriums will also be banned from being built in residential zones and will be limited to industrial areas.
The move came after Bethania residents protested in 2018 against a council decision to allow a crematorium to be built next to a retirement and aged care village.
In 2018, the then acting mayor Cherie Dalley allowed the full council to decide whether the crematorium could be built next to the retirement village fate rather than leaving it to be assessed by officers against criteria set out in the Logan Planning Scheme.
Adjustments to the planning scheme and an ensuing court case followed.
Maps will also be updated to mark out the latest property boundaries following a raft of subdivisions across the city and the local heritage register will also be updated.
State Development Minister Cameron Dick consented to preliminary changes to the brewing laws at a joint Logan council and state government industry forum at the Underwood microbrewery in June last year.
He said the state was pleased to help council put the framework in place to stimulate local industry and create new jobs.
Craft beer production in Queensland is estimated to be worth upwards of $62 million a year, with the industry in the southeast employing more than 1700 people.
Council’s strategy and sustainability director David Hansen said boosting the niche brewing industry in Logan was a priority and formed a large part of the city’s tourism strategy.