Community & Business
25 September, 2025
New Hodgson Vale church approved
What was once a house on the corner of Freyling Road and Northerly Drive in Hodgson Vale has been approved to become a church following the success of a development application to Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC).
The application was submitted on behalf of Toowoomba Gospel Trust which is associated with the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, also known as the as the Exclusive Brethren.
The proposal to change the house into a church has proven to be contentious, with Council receiving 55 comments regarding the matter.
In the assessment report for the planning application, TRC Planning Officer Alice Ssu-Chieh Pai said the 55 comments are unable to be considered ‘properly made submissions’ because the proposed development is a code assessable development.
“Notwithstanding the comments have been considered to the extent possible under the Planning Act 2016,” Ms Pai said.
“The main concerns raised by the comments included noise concerns, traffic impac(t)s and parking.”
The Material Change of Use for a Place of Worship application is for the 3,704m2 property at 5 Freyling Road, next to the Hodgson Vale Spar and Sayllers Brew.
The site had been zoned rural residential.
The registered land owners of the site are identified as Carl Stewart Archer, Andre Kingon, Paul David Thrush, Paul Raymond Reoch and Lester Roy May.
The church is intending to host services twice weekly, accommodating a maximum of 50 persons on-site at any one time.
Proposed service times are:
Monday Evening: 7:00pm-8:00pm; and
Sunday Morning: 6:00am-8:00am.
Vehicle access is proposed via Freyling Road, with an additional driveway crossover to service 16 on-site car parking spaces, including one space for persons with disabilities, and two garage spaces.
As part of the application’s approval there are many conditions that must be met.
This includes building a minimum 1.8m high solid screen fence, along the full length of the southern boundary, which borders a residence, with all costs borne by the developer.
Another condition says property maintenance can occur on any Monday to Saturday from 7am to 6pm.
“Set-up and pack-up activities should be limited to a maximum of one hour before and one hour after the designated service time and there is to be no amplified music or amplified music instruments used for any purposes,” it says.
The conditions list various noise limits acceptable during the worship services and maintenance.
The Plymouth Brethren congregation already has a church on the corner of the New England Highway and Top Camp Court at Top Camp.
In August 2023, Toowoomba Region Councillors voted to reject a development application that proposed to construct a place of worship at 3 Schmidt Court, Top Camp.
Councillors with a vote of 6 - 3 rejected that application on the basis that it was inappropriate land use for the rural residential zone, which is designed for houses on large lots.
The zone code looks for developments that provide a high level of residential amenity and are compatible with the limited infrastructure and services of the area.
Council officers had put forward their recommendation to approve the application, subject to conditions.
A total of 30 submissions, including two petitions, were put forward that rejected the proposal and nine submissions supported it.
Between the two petitions, there were over 100 signatures.
