Go-kart dream scrapped after Toowoomba Regional Council pays $495k for Harlaxton junkyard property

Barry Bull had a dream for years to turn an unsightly eyesore in Toowoomba’s northern suburbs into a go-karting track that would become a tourist attraction. But that plan will go unfulfilled.

Barry Bull has a dream of building a go-kart track on the site of Griffith Street Demolition which he currently owns and operates, Monday, June 4, 2018.

A plan to turn an old Toowoomba scrapyard into a go-karting track has been officially quashed, after the council revealed it bought the property from the owner.

Barry Bull announced in The Chronicle two years ago of his intention to turn Griffiths St Demolitions at 82 Griffiths St in Harlaxton into what he believed would be a major tourist attraction.

“There are things that you aim for all your life and this has been something I’ve wanted for a very long time,” he said at the time.

This was despite receiving no support from the Toowoomba Regional Council, which told him it would not back the plan.

Barry Bull had a dream of building a go-kart track on the site of Griffiths Street Demolition.

But it can now be revealed the TRC paid nearly $500,000 to acquire the property, which was bought as part of the “Mort St upgrade and the Gowrie Creek catchment management strategy” according to departmental report.

Mr Bull said he had intended to pursue his go-karting dream despite the council’s opposition until a family tragedy forced him to consider selling the site.

Prior to that, he said the TRC had expressed interest in buying the property.

“I got onto an agent and told them they could have it,” Mr Bull said.

“It broke my heart but life goes on.”

Mr Bull also took issue with the way the council had treated him, saying he would never do business in Toowoomba again.

Mr Bull said he still owns all the karts that he bought from OZ-E Kart in Wilsonton four years ago.

The TRC paid $495,000 for the 4000 sqm property, with the sale settling in October.

Environment and community chair Cr James O’Shea said the land would serve as an open-space buffer for Gowrie Creek, especially during flood events.

“It is part of the council’s strategy to improve drainage management, with an overall view of having open space buffers on either side of the Gowrie Creek corridor,” he said.

“Following the purchase, the council will clean the site and maintain the grounds.

“The long-term future for the broader area will require further investigation.”