Day after day of more than 200 gravel trucks thundering along the narrow Kin Kin – Pomona Road to and from Kin Kin Quarry has taken a heavy toll on local residents who voiced their feelings of fear, stress and anger at the ongoing situation at a community meeting called last Wednesday at Pomona to discuss the progress to a resolution.
There was tension in the Majestic Theatre when Mayor Clare Stewart told the crowd of about 200 people Council would initiate legal proceedings in the Planning and Environment Court after receiving legal advice from a preeminent Brisbane-based Barrister contracted by Council to investigate legal options over community impacts associated with the quarry.
While the advice identifies that the quarry has a legal right to operate it proposes that Council initiate proceedings in the Planning and Environment Court after evidence is gathered to support a case, she said.
“We’re here to listen and share stories,“ she said. “This is an emotive issue and Council is standing with you. Don’t think we are sweeping this under the table. We are a committed Council with you.“
Noosa MP Sandy Bolton told the crowd she knew how angry and frustrated people were but in order to make changes they needed to stand together as a united community. She acknowledged the community had already been on a journey together but they would need to travel further and continue to investigate every avenue to gain a resolution.
“The quarry has a permit. It’s a legally operating business,“ she said.Council CEO Brett de Chastel told the crowd they couldn’t make the quarry go away but the issue was the intensification of trucks travelling to and from the quarry over the past 8-10 months.
He said Council would need to collect extra evidence over the next 8-12 weeks.
“We will ask for volunteers to gather that evidence,“ he said.
“This council will commit going down that path. The end goal is to fight in court for this community.“
Mr de Chastel said he would meet with solicitors this week to look at the evidence required and measures to take them such as placing noise monitors on people’s properties.
Ms Bolton said studies were being conducted by the Department of Main Roads including on the capacity of the roads, the encroachment of trucks over the lanes and load carrying capacity of bridges.Police officer-in-charge Dan McNamara spoke to the community about policing on the roads and the intention to step it up.
He said as a local resident he supported the community and understood its frustration but as an officer he would “be playing a straight bat,“ treating truck drivers and local residents equally. He said police would be stepping up policing on the road with marked and unmarked cars and speed cameras.
“We’ll deploy as much as we can on the road,“ he said. “We can breath test, drug test, speed test.“
Officer McNamara said so far they had written tickets for only about half a dozen truck drivers and about a dozen locals and said most truck drivers were just working guys, not grubs.
While police are patrolling the roads Council officers are keeping a close eye on the quarry for any breaches of its Quarry Management Plan.
Council last week issued a further $27,000 fines to Cordwell Resources for breaching traffic requirements at the quarry.
The latest fines bring to $54,000 the fines issued for allegedly failing to maintain the necessary five minute gap for trucks leaving the quarry.
“$27,000 for every breach is a lot of money,“ Cr Stewart said. She said to date Cordwell Resources had not paid the fines but had elected to contest them in court.
Residents told the meeting how their lives had been changed by the frequently running trucks.
Some said it had driven customers away from their businesses and prevented them even walking down the street.
One woman said she now considered it too dangerous to walk her four-year-old to the nearby playground because it required they cross a one-lane bridge.
“There’s no safe place to walk in Kin Kin,“ another woman said. “We have to drive to Pomona to walk.“
One man said while some people in the room had been angry about the quarry for the past 10 years this had been the first meeting he’d attended where he’d been confident of gaining a resolution.
“This is probably the best chance we’re going to get to resolve this so please get behind this,“ he urged residents.
