Row over Noosa Bunnings exterior paint job

Bunnings Warehouse may have to play ball with a regional council in order to expand one of its stores on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Noosa Council is considering a proposal to allow the Wesfarmers-owned hardware chain to build an adjoining Bunnings Trade centre alongside its existing Bunnings Warehouse on Eumundi Noosa Rd, Noosaville.

But there’s a problem for the hardware giant: The council only allows local businesses to colour their building’s exterior in “muted tones”.

That clashes with the traditional paint job sported by Bunnings Trade stores, which is white with green lettering, sort of an inverse to the iconic green with white lettering and red logo seen on Bunnings Warehouse stores.

The matter came up for discussion at Noosa Council’s latest meeting of its planning and environment committee on October 10.

It was also found the proposed expansion would be 2m taller than council’s 10m limit, which Bunnings said was needed for its stock, noting that the build site is lower in elevation than the existing building.

Councillor Brian Stockwell pointed out council documents mentioned that acceptable outcomes were “no white”.

“I wonder why we’re going down a path of approving an aesthetic that is over height and is inconsistent in terms of colours to allow a business to once again do what the signing policy and signing law tried to avoid,” Mr Stockwell said.

“Commercial enterprises will want the corporate colours spread over their buildings. In Noosa, we don’t; we want what our scheme says, which is muted tones, and I think they could do better.”

Council meets to determine the fate of the expansion on October 23.

A Bunnings spokesperson said they were pleased council was considering their proposal.

“If approved, the new trade centre would provide a wider range of timber and trade products for our customers and improve our overall offer to the local community,” the spokesperson said.