Black Forest Cuckoo Clock Centre at Cabarlah to become microbrewery, restaurant after Toowoomba Regional Council approval

The burgeoning tourism region north of Toowoomba could soon be getting a new addition, after a plan for a new microbrewery and restaurant reached a key stage.

A plan to transform a famous venue north of Toowoomba into a microbrewery, restaurant and tourism outlet has taken a big step forward.

Toowoomba Regional Council gave approval just before Christmas for applicant Damien Matthews to revamp the former Black Forest Hill Cuckoo Clock Centre into the Clock and Bull – Brewhouse and Chowhouse.

The new venture would operate six days a week and employ more than a dozen full-time and casual staff.

According to the report by Precinct Urban Planning, the Clock and Bull would aim to attract more tourists to the High Country Hamlets region north of Toowoomba.

LODGED: A new microbrewery, restaurant and shop, to be called the Cluck and Bull Brewhouse and Chowhouse, has been proposed inside the old Black Forest Cuckoo Clock Centre on New England Highway in Cabarlah.

“The building to be adaptively reused is positioned centrally and setback from the frontage, with direct pedestrian access available from the existing carparking area adjacent to the frontage and a new rear carparking area accessible from Evans Road,” the report said.

“The proposed complex will include dining and kitchen areas associated with the restaurant, and bar and brewing areas forming part of the microbrewery component.”

Damien Matthews is the new owner of the Black Forest Hill in Cabarlah and hopes to transform it into the Clock and Bull Brewhouse. Picture: Nev Madsen.

No submissions were received either for or against the proposal, with council’s senior planner Hayley O’Brien recommending its approval subject to more than 110 conditions.

“The proposed development generally complies with the assessment benchmarks or it can be conditioned to comply,” she wrote in her assessment report.

Speaking to The Chronicle in April, Mr Matthews said he envisioned the new venue as a “draw card for the region”.

“This northern side of Toowoomba is a real growth area, and the feedback we have had to date has been overwhelmingly positive, which says that we’re on the right track,” he said at the time.

“In general, the community wants it — we’re not just another brewery or restaurant, we want to be different.”

LODGED: A new microbrewery, restaurant and shop, to be called the Cluck and Bull Brewhouse and Chowhouse, has been proposed inside the old Black Forest Cuckoo Clock Centre on New England Highway in Cabarlah.