Shopping Complex Plans Opposed

BILOELA Information Centre volunteers are demanding their cries be heard after learning their beloved centre will be torn down and shoved into a dark corner if the shopping centre development goes ahead.

"It has always been on the books but we never thought it would happen," centre co-ordinator Marilyn Roberts said.

"Apparently there is going to be a service station around the back, going onto where Barret Street meets the Burnett Highway," president Barbara Barman said.

"The idea is to put the service station on the left hand side facing towards the rest and behind that will be the information centre - We will be invisible there.

"Now people can see us which ever direction they are coming from but if they stick us behind another building they won't see us, they will pass us before they see us."

The group said news of the development made its band of more than 20 volunteers feel unappreciated for the work they did with more than 7000 visitors a year.

"Our feeling is Council would be much happier if we all just packed up and went to the silo," Barbara said.

"But most of our volunteers won't go to the silo, they are older people, they can walk here but they can't drive (to the silo) because of their age," vice-president Eric Vernon said.

Marilyn said the centre had not been notified in regard to any of the plans.

"We have only had one meeting with Mr McKnight which was at the end of last year," Marilyn said.

"He showed us this plan of a little building that looked like a toilet block and that is all the communication we have had with them the whole time."

Eric is nervous about what the town would lose if the plans went ahead.

"I am alarmed at the number of things that disappear," he said.

"When Woolworths arrived in the first instance a block of low price units disappeared when they did that expansion and I haven't seen any blocks to replace that.

"We don't have any low price accommodation.

"We also have a tourist parking strip which will disappear and I haven't seen anything on the plans as to what would happen."

"The people before us we had a little donga and they worked really hard to get this building built," Marilyn said.

"We just don't think we should give up that easily."

The information centre is refusing to move before their lease runs out in 2020.