Gold Coast community calls for a stop to Reedy Creek quarry… again
Plans for a proposed Boral quarry in the Reedy Creek and Tallebudgera area has received major backlash from the community as the Queensland Government issues a proposed call-in notice.
A similar quarry was proposed for the area back in 2013 but was ultimately dismissed by the Planning and Environment Court in 2017 due to environmental and residential concerns.
This decision was backed by the Supreme Court in 2018 when Boral appealed the decision.
The new development application closely resembles the proposal from 2013, with the changes of a reduction in annual material production from 2 million to 1.2 million and a slightly decreased extraction footprint.
The new proposal retains outlines for a 40-year operational life, the removal of J Ridge and up to 400 truck movements per day.
The proposed quarry would extract greywacke, a cheap and abundant rock type containing crystalline silica, and be dispersed as respirable dust through blasting, crushing and haulage up to 8km from the site.
Gecko Environment Council, a Gold Coast based association, says the quarry raises major concerns for the environment including loss of endangered koala habitat, impact on the critical hinterland corridor, threats to flora and fauna, and risks to waterways and air quality.
The 500-acre quarry site is a vital ecological link connecting coastal habitats to Springbrook National Park and is home to wildlife including koalas, wallabies, Black Cockatoos and more.
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Boral estimates the quarry will require around 400 truck movements per day, across routes passing through school zones and roads with heavy congestion.
Local resident Jen Gyles mentioned residential and environmental impacts as her main concerns about the proposed quarry.
“As someone who lives here, my kids go to school here and the pollution and the dust is a real concern. I just don’t want to live in an industrial wasteland, I don’t think anyone does,” Gyles said.
Gyles moved to the area in 2012, knowing there was the possibility of a quarry development in the area.
“We were new to the area but we did everything we could back then to oppose it… we supported rallies, signed the petitions so it’s frustrating that we’re back here again,” Gyles added.
“I think the community has been kept at arm’s length… I really hope this time we have some transparency and I really hope that the government steps in and makes the right decision,” she added.
The proposed call-in notice follows a request from Members of Parliament Minister Ros Bates, Minister Laura Gerber and Councillor Hermann Vorster to the Deputy Premier, raising concerns on behalf of the Gold Coast community.
A call-in notice is a notification from a high-level authority – in this case members Bates, Gerber and Vorster – invoking power to intervene in a development application initially managed by a local government.
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The call-in raises issues including the responsible extraction of natural resources, infrastructure impacts, environmental considerations and community impacts.
Ros Bates, member for Mudgeeraba and minster for finance, trade, employment and training has been advocating against the quarry since it was first proposed.
“From the first public meeting in 2010, I have made my position clear. I have been unwavering in opposing this quarry, shoulder‑to‑shoulder with locals and the STOP the Gold Coast Quarry group over many years,” Bates says in a statement on her website.
Under the proposed call-in, the Deputy Premier will write to the applicant, Gold Coast City Council and submitters on the application, inviting their feedback over a ten-day consultation period on whether the project should be called in.
The community now has ten business days to have their say on whether this project should be called in for further assessment, which ends on Tuesday March 3.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said the proposed call–in was about restoring community confidence.
“Queenslanders deserve transparency and confidence in planning decisions and residents want to be taken seriously when projects of this magnitude are proposed near their homes,” Bleijie said.
“By initiating this proposed call in, we’re taking the time to test whether the right questions have been asked, the right information has been considered, and whether the community has had a genuine opportunity to be heard.”
If the application is called in, the Deputy Premier will make the final decision on whether to go ahead with the quarry after considering all submission, which Boral will not be able to appeal.
Construction materials company, Reedy Creek West Burleigh Projects, assures the quarry is essential to keep up with the Gold Coast’s growing housing demand.
The company lists benefits of the quarry including close supply of constructions materials and keeping homes, roads and infrastructure affordable for local families.
Reedy Creek projects also outlined improved environmental measures including 160 hectares of land to be enhanced with tree planting and 53 hectares of land provided to council for open green space.
It also outlined possible risks if the quarry is not approved, citing increase of cost materials, increased traffic congestion to haul aggregates from outside the Gold Coast and loss of 25 percent aggregate supply which would delay major projects.
Boral was approached for comment.
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