Quarry Gardens plan revived after decade in wilderness

pcm_admin19/03/2020, 10:43 pm19/03/2020

A media statement by the Premier confirmed the proposal for the Quarry Gardens at the idle Bridge Street Quarry was revived when Palaszczuk recently opened the 68^th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.

“The Carnival of Flowers has once again confirmed Toowoomba’s reputation as Australia’s Garden City,” Palaszczuk said.

“By thoroughly examining the Quarry Gardens proposal, there is potential to strengthen that reputation and draw even more visitors – from across Australia and overseas – to the great city of Toowoomba,” she added.

The Quarry Gardens concept was first proposed in 2001 but did not progress due to the severe drought and water restrictions placed on the city.

According to information released by the council when the project was first being planned, the Gardens would involve “an educational campus, waste treatment and recycling facility, passive energy utilities, sustainable housing and an eco-hotel and conference facility providing an holistic experience of nature”.

Palaszczuk confirmed the proposal would be modelled on the Butchart Gardens in Canada. Built on a former limestone quarry and located in Vancouver Island, the Gardens bring in more than a million visitors annually.

She added her government would work with Toowoomba Regional Council on the feasibility study.

“In discussions with the Mayor and the community, I believe it’s time to revisit the proposal,” she said. “The potential benefits for the Toowoomba region and our state are very exciting.”

The Bridge Street Quarry was used for more than one hundred years and is owned by the Toowoomba regional council.

Quarry contacted a spokesperson for the Premier and the Toowoomba Regional Council for further comment about the proposed rehabilitation of the quarry but had not received responses from either party at the time of publication.