Blue Hills Honey eyes tourism in expansion plans

Robbie Charles, co-owner of the award-winning honey processing company, has applied for a permit to expand the facility, with an eye to tourism and visitors.

The project, estimated to be worth $750,000, includes a new cafe, a new office, a shed extension and new storage sheds. It would also include a new carport area and more car parks.

The well-known company sites its honey extraction and packaging business there, but although the permit application includes packing room and office extensions, much of the focus is on a cafe and tourist interpretation centre.

“The focus is on modernisation and tourism potential,” the application said.

The plans show a proposed large ‘virtual reality’ room off the cafe, where visitors would get a close-up experience of bee activity and honey extraction. Next to that would be an interpretation centre and reception area.

The entrance to the cafe and tourism area would feature Blue Hill Honey products in a specially designed display area.

The extension would abut the large processing shed, and would face Mawbanna Road and the landscaped garden area.

The cafe has been designed to seat up to 36 people at tables, with more places at a dining benches along the wall. The permit includes one carpark per three visitors, with a total of 28 parks needed, including two disabled parks.

The two vehicle access ways to Mawbanna Road would stay.

The existing honey processing plant takes up 570 square metres of the site, with the cafe / tourist area to be 165 square metres.  A storage shed along the back boundary would be much enlarged under the development.

Blue Hills Honey won the 2016 Monde Selection Grand Gold Quality Award for its leatherwood honey, which was rated the in the top 5 world food products.

The Charles family started an apiary there over 60 years ago as a hobby and now has nearly 2000 hives producing a range of honeys.

Public comments on the proposal close with the Circular Head Council on June 26.