Wagner Corporation lodge DA for Wellcamp Airport Aerospace and Defence Precinct
The Wellcamp Airport Aerospace and Defence Precinct has moved closer to becoming a reality with Wagner Corporation lodging plans with Toowoomba Regional Council.
Development
Don't miss out on the headlines from Development. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Plans to create a massive new aerospace precinct outside of Toowoomba have taken a step closer to fruition.
Wagner Corporation this week lodged a development application with the Toowoomba Regional Council to build its Wellcamp Airport Aerospace and Defence Precinct.
The centrepiece of the project, sitting on land right next to the airport, will be the Boeing Loyal Wingman facility, which will assemble and test unmanned defence aircraft.
The factory, which is the first of its kind built outside of the United States, will create work for 300 people and help grow the defence industry in the Toowoomba region.
The Loyal Wingman drone will have a range of more than 3700km and is designed to support crewed aircraft.
It comes five months after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed the Toowoomba region would host the project.
According to the planning report submitted by Precinct Urban Planning, the precinct will feature three buildings, including the factory, warehousing and a painting and refuelling area.
“The primary use of the (first) building will be for the assembly and testing of Boeing Aircraft Teaming Systems associated with the Boeing Loyal Wingman Facility,” the report said.
“That part of the building to be used for assembly purposes comprises 11,830 sqm with a mezzanine plant room of 562 sqm.
“(The warehouse) building will be located to the west of the Boeing assembly building and will be primarily used for storage purposes.
“The (painting) building comprises three sections including a hangar (1267 sqm) adjacent the taxiway, paint area (1673 sqm) central to the building and a storage area (1135 sqm) on the western side of the building.”
The facility will also feature 250 car parks, with operations expected to run 24 hours a day.
“Staff will attend the site over three eight-hour shifts (8am-4pm, 4pm-12am and 12am-8am) with the first shift comprising 150 staff, the second shift 100 staff and the third shift 50 staff,” the planning report said.
Multiple reports into stormwater, noise and traffic impacts were also submitted with the application.
Boeing is still waiting for the Federal Government to place its first order, with the matter reportedly a formality.
Speaking in September, Boeing Defence Australia managing director Scott Carpendale said he was confident in an order soon.
Beyond ‘safe limits’: Dire prison warning as mega jail misses target
A new mega jail in Queensland’s southeast has been hit with massive delays and a quarter-billion dollar budget blowout, as the state’s prison population is stretched to the limit.
$1.2bn in works: 17 projects coming to Toowoomba in 2025
In what is expected to be another bumper year for the city’s development industry, more than $1bn worth of works are set to be completed or significantly advanced in 2025.
Top council bureaucrat departs amid major leadership shake-up
Just weeks after Toowoomba council’s chief executive announced the end of his tenure, another top bureaucrat is leaving the organisation for another region.
‘Above and beyond’: Massive over-50s project planned for growth area
More than 400 new homes for older residents could become a reality if a new retirement village is built in a high-growth area just outside Toowoomba.
‘No plans’: Heritage bank closures addressed
A major Toowoomba financial institution has responded to fears redundancies and changing trading hours would lead to regional branch closures in towns west of the city. Here’s what we know:
‘Zero odour’: $15m Darling Downs wagyu feedlot plan approved
A revamped plan for a new “high value” Wagyu cattle feedlot outside Toowoomba has been approved by the council, with its owner promising “zero odour” problems for neighbours.