Redland City Council has expressed disappointment with the State Government decision to approve the Barro Quarry application to extend its Mt Cotton quarry operations.
The decision by the Deputy Premier, and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, follows the government’s formal decision to ‘call in’ the application, after Council rejected the application in June this year.
Local Division 6 Councillor and Planning and Development Portfolio Chair, Cr Julie Talty said Council readily acknowledges it is not an easy matter with competing views.
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“This was evidenced by the Minister agreeing to call in the decision and acknowledging the State had a priority interest in the matter and competing State Regulatory controls for protecting the State resources and preserving the environment.
“While Council appreciates the Minister has placed conditions on the approval, it is not yet clear from the Minister’s press release how strict or effective the Minister’s stated conditions on the approval will be.
“Council and residents will be looking very closely at the detail, particularly those areas highlighted by Council as the grounds for rejecting the proposal in its detailed submission to the State Government in August this year.
“This included noise, dust and traffic impacts and significant impacts on existing environmental habitats, with close proximity to existing rural residential houses and local businesses such as nurseries, cafés and guest houses, as well as road safety concerns.
“I am certain that many members of the Mt Cotton community will be extremely disappointed, as am I, by the decision.
“The Minister’s decision is final, so Council has no choice but to accept the government’s decision and move on by working with all parties to ensure the conditions placed on the approval are met by the applicant in the best interests of the residents.
“This includes hours of operation, dust and noise impacts and monitoring, traffic improvements and the set back required for affected properties.
“Until we can assess the detail it is not possible to judge the full impact of the Minister’s decision today.
“Council has a strong focus on encouraging business and economic growth and we will continue to work with the local community to support growth in tourism, lifestyle businesses and clean agriculture in the Mt Cotton area.”
