Major upgrades for showgrounds during COVID hiatus

The upgrades won’t just help the show society, but any groups who use the facilities.

Upgrades have been planned for the Gatton Showgrounds.

GATTON showgrounds will undergo major upgrades in a bid to improve electrical operations for the show society and external user groups.

The show society received a $122,000 grant, and with backing from Lockyer Valley Regional Council, will inject $150,000 into power upgrades.

Society president Katherine Raymont said there would also be minor works to the internal roads at the grounds.

Gatton Show Society president Katherine Raymont (Photo: Dominic Elsome)

“The works will predominantly reduce our need to hire generators, improving safety at the grounds,” Ms Raymont said.

An additional $35,000 grant from the community gambling fund will go towards installing rainwater tanks at showground buildings, and fixing fencing in the cattle section.

“The works won’t just help the show society, but for anyone using the grounds,” Ms Raymont said.

The show society was forced to cancel its show this year, and Ms Raymont said 2021 was still “up in the air”.

The committee is continuing to meet regularly, via zoon, but Ms Raymont was concerned about running a show in the “COVID world”.

“The trouble is, you can’t afford to plan too much because you can lose all your money,” she said.

“Toowoomba was nearly ready to run a show and all that work went down the drain.”

In the meantime, the society will continue to improve the grounds.

They recently launched a new website, which is up and running, you can visit it here.

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