Toowoomba Regional Council’s (TRC) Principal Depot project is completed, providing a state of the art facility to meet the current and future needs of Council staff and the Toowoomba Region.
TRC Environment and Community Committee Chair Cr James O’Shea said the depot, at 24 Nass Road in Charlton, has been constructed to deliver a modern and sustainable facility which provides a safer and more productive working environment for staff.
“The depot includes a central operations building, three workshops, a central store, nursery and the Toowoomba Group State Emergency Service (SES) Headquarters,” Cr O’Shea said.
“The new SES facility will enable the sharing of information, resources and new technologies and provide a coordinated response in an emergency.
“The depot also includes sustainable design elements focused on water and energy efficiency to minimise the building’s environmental impact.
“The depot will run on solar power, and a 750 kilolitre rainwater tank has been installed to capture rainwater runoff from rooftops. This water will be used to operate the toilets and irrigate the site.”
Cr O’Shea said around 500 staff from the Oakey and Harristown depots and the Toowoomba Nursery would relocate to the depot in a staged approach from June to December 2020.
“As we face the challenges of COVID-19, the health and safety of staff moving to the depot is our number one priority,” Cr O’Shea said.
“Staging the relocation enables us to adhere to the social distancing requirements necessary to provide a safe physical distance between teams and individuals both during and after the move.
“The first staff will start working from the facility in mid-June 2020.”
Cr O’Shea said the depot was required to replace ageing facilities at Harristown East and West, Oakey and the Toowoomba Nursery.
“Council reviewed the suitability of facilities across the region and considered the increasing operational, maintenance and compliance costs associated with running these facilities,” Cr O’Shea said.
“Through this process Council identified the need to replace these existing facilities with a new major depot which meets current requirements and future need.”
Toowoomba Regional Council predominantly funded the Principal Depot project with support from the Queensland Government.
