Lockyer Valley Regional Council has approved a development application made by Preston Peak Events Pty Ltd to use a house in Preston as accommodation for its visitors.

The house is located at 3 Elliott Close, on the Gormans Gap estate, 2.5 kilometres from the Preston Peak venue.

The Material Change of Use application, lodged in April this year, calls for the property to be able to be used as a ‘Motel’.

In a report submitted as part of a Council meeting held last week, it was noted a complaint regarding the use of the land for a motel was received in 2022.

Action by Council officers resulted in the development application being lodged.

There are residential properties to the east and west of 3 Elliott Close.

There were several limits put in place for visitors using the accommodation.

The ‘Motel’ is to be available to be booked for guests’ stays for a maximum of 170 nights in any calendar year.

Week night stays between Monday to Thursday are to be limited to 40 nights in any calendar year, inclusive of the 170 nights mentioned above.

The maximum number of guests accommodated in the Motel at any one time must not exceed ten persons.

The Motel is to be rented as a single booking.

Individual rooms are not to be rented separately.

All vehicles associated with the Motel must be parked on the premises.

No on-street parking is permitted.

The use of helicopters to transport guests to and from the premises is prohibited.

The landowners of four nearby properties will also need to be provided with contact details for the manager of the Motel, including a mobile phone number.

During the public notification period from 21st April to 16th May this year, the Lockyer Valley Regional Council received six properly made submissions.

Concerns raised by the submissions included visitors behaving inappropriately, helicopter use, a AirBNB/motel not being in keeping with the neighbourhood and guest numbers exceeding ten.

The Council’s responses to these concerns were largely that the limits imposed would curb their impact and as the property is zoned as Rural Uplands, tourism opportunities need to be balanced with rural amenity.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 29 June 2023.