Toowoomba CBD’s Shamrock Hotel set for major renovations, renaming, after NSW investor lodges plans with council

The new owner of a long-standing Toowoomba CBD pub will completely revamp the venue, with a new name also in the mix. Check out the proposed designs here:

One of the Toowoomba CBD’s most prominent – and sometimes infamous – pubs will undergo a significant transformation at the hands of its new owners.

Plans have been lodged with the Toowoomba Regional Council to completely revamp the Shamrock Hotel on Ruthven Street.

It comes about a year after it was revealed a New South Wales investor had snapped up the longstanding watering hole for a figure north of $5.5m.

According to the latest proposal, the Shamrock will be renamed the Bower Hotel and include significant internal re-workings to modernise the pub.

The Shamrock Hotel Motel, Toowoomba.

The application, which is a minor change to the original 1997 approval that has since been updated, includes significant demolitions throughout the venue to rearrange the floor plan.

Along with turning the front bar section into an outdoor terrace and moving the pokies room closer to the front of the pub, the owners will open up the roof at the rear to create an al fresco dining area with the bistro.

The designated smoking area will actually be located within the pub itself, with the roof removed to create the space.

The pub will be based around a central bar area with three service areas, split by a walkway from the front lounge to the bistro.

The motel at the rear of the Bower Hotel will see minimal alterations, with one room sacrificed to move the stairs.

Alpha Planning Solutions’ Andrew Hill noted in his report to the council that the renovations would not dramatically change the building’s visual impact from the street.

Proposed plans for the Shamrock Hotel on Ruthven Street in Toowoomba City, which could be renamed the Bower Hotel.

“The proposed change will not dramatically alter the built form of the approved building in terms of scale, bulk and appearance,” he wrote.

“As the proposed changes to the subject building’s design/appearance (relatively minor increase in gross floor areas behind the existing building and generally superficial alteration of the appearance/design of the building) and ‘internal’ and site layout changes will not notably alter the height of the buildings, the bulk and scale of the buildings when viewed from adjoining uses or the street, will not alter existing building setbacks.”

The minor change also includes a proposed revision of the conditions, including the removal of some attached to previous approvals.

The 130-year-old pub changed hands in late 2021, with selling agents Geoff Percy and Scott Williams revealing last year it would be transformed by the new owner.

“This has really got the best elements – it’s got accommodation, it’s got gaming and it’s got the food and the bar,” Mr Percy said.

The Shamrock Hotel was contacted for comment.