Pittsworth egg producer McLean Farms submits proposal to build workers accommodation to Toowoomba council

Plans have been lodged by a major egg producer for a new workers accommodation on its property — and the reason for the submission has been revealed.

A major Toowoomba region egg producer has revealed plans for new workers accommodation in a bid to stay attractive as an employer in a competitive job market.

McLean Farms, which employs nearly 270 people to manage 1.2m laying birds on properties near Pittsworth, has lodged a proposal with the Toowoomba Regional Council for a new “rural workers’ accommodation” on Pittsworth-Felton Road at Pittsworth.

According to the planning report, the new development would be able to house up to 20 workers, “with supporting facilities including a kitchen, diner, freezer, laundry, coolroom and dry store”.

“The proposed accommodation will house employees who will work on the McLean Farms poultry and egg production farming operations in the surrounding area,” the report said.

“The workers to be accommodated will live permanently onsite for periods of six months to two years and will not have a permanent residence elsewhere.

“The workers will not be using the accommodation for drive-in/drive-out or fly-in/fly-out purposes.”

McLean Farmers CEO Andy Crocker said the proposal wasn’t to cater for an existing need, but rather a potential future requirement to entice workers.

He said accommodation had become scarce in towns like Pittsworth and even Toowoomba.

“What has happened first is the number of properties available in Pittsworth have been reducing, and the second is it’s obvious there is more competition for the workforce,” Mr Crocker said.

“We haven’t made a decision to progress, but what we know is the DA process is lengthy so we’ve put this down to help attract staff in a competitive market.

“We already do rent a number of properties and we’re happy to do that but there’s plenty of competition and not much housing stock available.”

Mr Crocker said the egg industry had slowly started to exit a difficult two years thanks to Covid-19, adding McLean Farms was getting ready to expand further.

“It’s been a tough Covid period for a number of reasons, but our position is (good because) we continue to produce eggs,” he said.

“It’s a volatile industry but right now we’re at full production.

“We’ve stayed in it and we’re continuing to produce what’s available and we’re moving into the cage-free market.”

The move to further expand cage-free egg production comes as Australia commits to phasing out battery-farmed eggs by 2036.

The company’s current product range includes free range, barn raised, organic and cage eggs for the Australian domestic market.