Six years after a $600,000 government-funded refurbishment, Beechworth's former Railway Goods Shed remains empty after a proposal to retain a key piece of the town's early history was rejected.

The $600,000 project was funded by Indigo Shire Council and the federal government through the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Program.

Council undertook the project to provide a space for business opportunities and commercial activation of the railway precinct.

Council chief executive officer Trevor Ierino said the Goods Shed is being used for its current approved purpose – to secure storage.

Beechworth History and Heritage Society (BHHS) had sought council support to temporarily house a significant part of Beechworth’s early history – the horse-drawn carriage collection – in the unused goods shed through its proposed HORSEPOWER project.

The project was aimed at allowing for the remaining carriage collection’s suitable storage and some access by the community and visitors while permanent housing could be found or funded.

Mr Ierino said BHHS’s request had been declined for a number of reasons, including the goods shed currently being a storage shed and not up to building code for public access and activation.

He said converting the goods shed to a space where the public can gather, as a museum or activation, would require a change of use to a higher building class.

“This brings its own requirements including accessible facilities, disability access and lighting upgrades,” Mr Ierino said.

“Council continues to progress planning and building matters to ensure it can be brought up to building code, suited to future activation.”

The CEO said when it happens, an open EOI process will take place with BHHS and others invited to submit their EOI for suitable activation of the shed.

“The carriage collection is owned and managed by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), as custodian of its wider Victorian Carriage Collection,” Mr Ierino said.

“It is the Trust, not council, that determines where and how the carriages are kept and displayed.

“The Trust considers that protection, preservation and public access are important considerations for any appropriate long-term solution.

“The goods shed does not offer any level of climate control or suitable vermin proof storage or public access at this time.”

BHHS president Jamie Kronborg said the outcome had been disappointing, missing a rare opportunity to tell the story of horse-powered transport and its fundamental contribution to the economic and social development of Beechworth, the region and Victoria.

Mr Kronborg said the project would have added a significant layer to Beechworth’s story, contributing to a broader understanding of the horse within the complexities of colonialism, and adding to Indigo's ambitious and welcome pitch for inclusion in the Victorian Goldfields UNESCO World Heritage bid.

He also said the National Trust, supporting BHHS’s ambition, had been impressed by the commitment and advocacy shown by BHHS.

“The Trust said it shared the community’s disappointment that despite considerable commitment and effort from all parties, a suitable and sustainable facility could not be secured to enable the proposed (Horsepower) project to proceed,” he said.

The remnant vehicles, which have been in Beechworth for almost 60 years, will now be dispersed and relocated by the National Trust except for one or two privately owned and on loan to the collection.

The carriages have been temporarily housed for cleaning and conservation in an undisclosed site on Beechworth’s outskirts since the Trust shifted them from their former home at Billson’s Brewery, now called Last St Brewery, in 2022.

Neither the former nor current storage facilities had any climate control or comprehensive vermin proofing.

Mr Kronborg said he was baffled by Indigo council's decision given its recently adopted visitor-focused Destination Management Plan 2026-2036, with the council's stated claim that Indigo communities were 'entering a heritage revival' in which layered stories of local history and heritage would be vital.

Mr Ierino said council continued to share the Trust's communications with the community as they come to hand.