Red tape has stalled the much-hyped rationalisation of Queensland's saleyards sector being led by the Regional Infrastructure group, which last year targeted the Gracemere, Toowoomba and Roma regions as suitable markets.

But the company's plans have been slowed significantly, with the State Government's amalgamation of local councils muddying the waters for its hopes of acquiring Gracemere, while the new Roma Regional Council is pressing ahead with its own saleyards upgrade.

However, Regional Infrastructure director Malcolm McKinnon said progress has been made on the company's plans for the Darling Downs, with up to 100 hectares of land in the Kingsthorpe area in the process of being acquired.

Mr McKinnon said a design was being finalised for a new set of yards capable of handling 350,000 head of cattle a year, ahead of lodging a development application with the Toowoomba Regional Council.

But the attempts of Regional Infrastructure - a firm financially backed by Perpetual - to purchase Gracemere were last year stymied by the fact that the yards were previously governed by four local governments, which have now been merged into the new Rockhampton Regional Council.

New Rockhampton Mayor, Brad Carter, said the council was still compiling a report into the future of the yards, including the likely costs of upgrading the yards to meet workplace health and safety and animal welfare standards, meaning any decision could still be some months off.

"We need to look at different ways of managing the assett and the issues around reinvesting in the asset with environmental issues and maintenance costs," Mr Carter said.

"Whether a sale is the simplest answer or whether the business has to be conducted in a different form ... I'm of the view that the operations cannot continue in the way they have previously."

In Roma the new regional council has not revisited last year's decision to take its yards off the market, and is instead pressing ahead with its own redevelopment plans.

This is despite a legal challenge to the council's decision not to allow David and Suzanne Bassingthwaite to build a new set of yards in Roma.

Roma Mayor Rob Loughnan said the council had taken legal advice and would be "protecting its interests" throughout the process, which includes mediation and disclosure but could culminate in a court hearing in September.

Mr Loughnan said work would continue, regardless of the legalities, on its four-year $1.4 million revamp of the Roma yards, with work to begin within weeks on 60 new pens at a cost of roughly $500,000.

SOURCE: Extract from a full report in Queensland Country Life, May 8 issue.