Darling Downs Rifle Club can proceed with its plans for a new range after the conclusion of a years-long legal battle

It’s been a decade since the Darling Downs Rifle Club was turfed out of its home of more than a century in Mount Lofty. Now, a court decision paves the way for its future.

Jim Breeze cleaning a Darling Downs Rifle Club rifle. The club finally will have a new home after securing an agreement in the Planning and Environment Court.

After being homeless for more than a decade and years of legal battles, the Darling Downs Rifle Club can at last build a new rifle range at Jondaryan.

The project had been under successive legal challenges since 2017, but the club and neighbouring land owner, Wooroolah Grazing Company, were able to reach an agreement through the Planning and Environment Court this week.

Club treasurer Jim Breeze said while his members were grateful to the Dalby Rifle Club for allowing the use of their range over the years, they were excited to have a place to call their own.

“It’s one thing to be shooting on someone else’s range,” he said.

“But you can only sleep on your brother’s couch so often, you know?”

Mr Breeze said the Darling Downs probably had one of the higher concentrations of gun licence holders in Queensland but until the approval was granted, didn’t have a large range to shoot at.

A groundswell of support for the new range was evident through donations to the club’s legal costs from individuals and clubs around the region, totalling $86,000.

“It was really heartening,” Mr Breeze said, thanking all those who contributed.

The club was kicked out of its Mount Lofty home of more than a century by the Department of Defence in 2011.

The Queensland Rifle Association acquired the 358ha parcel of land for the new range at Jondaryan in December 2015.

An initial development application was approved in 2017, but was appealed by Wooroolah.

But as Mr Breeze put it, his club “hadn’t done their homework” and had to pull the application to avoid a costly court case.

“I actually sent an email to everyone in the Queensland Rifle Association saying, well, that’s the dream over, you know,” he said.

But on the same day he received an email from the State Government saying they had been approved for a grant to help build a new range.

“We did a redesign, got a bit smarter this time and threw in another development application,” Mr Breeze said.

Wooroolah again appealed after Toowoomba Regional Council approved the new range in late 2019, and the court case ended this week.

Wooroolah was contacted for comment but did not respond.