On Tuesday, the Scenic Rim Regional Council endorsed the decision of its Planning and Development Committee to refuse approval for the development of a “mega quarry” south of the Beaudesert township in south-east Queensland.
At last week’s meeting of the Planning Committee, reasons given included concerns over traffic, noise, risks and nuisance to people and property, as well as environmental issues.
Developer Ross Kiernan, of Kiernan Investments, had applied for permission to quarry up to one million tonnes of basalt per annum, which would have more than doubled the current amount being hauled on the roads around Beaudesert and surrounding towns.
However, the operator of an existing quarry at Cryna, on the southern outskirts of Beaudesert, has also applied recently for approval for a major increase in quarry production and members of the local Quarry Action Group understand that at least one further application is in the process of submission to Council.