Toowoomba Regional Council proposes changes to controversial prison work camp at Charlton

Changes will be made to a controversial plan for a low-custody prisoner work camp in Toowoomba’s western suburbs.

The Toowoomba Regional Council has proposed minor changes to a controversial prison work camp at Charlton.

A controversial prison work camp proposal outside Toowoomba will be altered, after the council brought the project back to its own planning department.

The Charlton low-custody work camp, which would house up to 12 low-risk inmates and several prison guards, was approved at a special council meeting in April 2018,

This was despite pushback from several neighbouring residents, who cited security concerns.

Now the council has brought the project back for “minor changes”, including the removal of the amenities block and other buildings.

The proposed changes reduce the overall gross floor area at the site on Nass Road in Charlton.

Toowoomba Regional Council plans to build a detention facility work camp on land at Nass Rd in Charlton.

“All proposed buildings are single storey and have a maximum height of less than 4m in height, on-site carparking is to be provided in the form of two staff spaces and four visitor spaces, external to security perimeter fencing, and total proposed gross floor area is 382.1 sqm,” the report to council said.

It’s the first sign in years as to whether the work camp will go ahead, after the project was stuck in limbo for unclear reasons.

Comments from both Queensland Corrective Services and the Toowoomba Regional Council in February gave differing views on its progress, with each party arguing it was waiting on details from the other side.

A QCS spokeswoman said at the time that construction had not started due to “ongoing cultural sensitivities” and that it was waiting on further information from the council.