COMMERCIAL occupants of Gloucester’s “The Butter Factory” believe the building has unfulfilled potential.
“There are parts of the building which would be perfect for such things as restaurants, wine bars, antique shops and galleries,” said businessowner Deborah Sheely.
“It could be a great place for tourists to visit.”
Crossing the railway line as you arrive in Gloucester from the north, you cannot miss the large, old industrial building.
The Gloucester Co-operative Dairy Company commenced operations on the site in 1917.
The factory went on to produce large amounts of cream and butter and was an important local employer until it closed in 2001.
The old factory sits adjacent to the main railway line with a platform where produce was loaded onto trains to be shipped to market.
The railway line is still intact, although it has been some time since it was used, and there have been suggestions that it could be restored and used to replace the existing station.
The factory consists of several different rooms, such as the cream room; the churn room; the cold room and the boiler room – all in varying states of repair.
Although from the outside many parts of the building appear to be run down, with a few broken windows, parts of the interior have been restored in recent years.
Amendments to Local Environment Plans across NSW in 2023, saw it rezoned as MU1 mixed use, which includes light industry.
It now hosts a landscape company; a high-end joinery company; a motor mechanic; a timber gate business and a bespoke furniture design and manufacturing business.
Ms Sheely noted that other communities have turned similar buildings into drawcards.
“I’ve visited the old butter factory at Bellingen which has been revitalised,” she said.
“It is now a focal point for the community.”
By John WATTS
What a great idea, the potential for tourists if this was to be fulfilled is enormous. As for using it for the main train station, brilliant, it would be much more convenient for locals & tourists. Bring back the steam train also.
I travelled on north bound XPT just over a week ago, and as there was a delay with crossing of south bound train, for approx 1 hour, all passengers were invited to leave the train and stretch their legs. I know this has happened before but had there been some venue as suggested what a bonus it would have been.
All I will add is GET ON BOARD Locals, work with train timetables, stay open even if there is no delayed trains. “Success is only as near as the effort applied. “