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Bayswater councillors to protest proposed concrete plant

Toyah ShakespeareEastern Reporter

The plant is closer to becoming reality after the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) refused to assess environmental impacts last month.

The Collier Road application, first put forward by WA Limestone in 2011, was frozen in a second round of State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) mediation with City of Bayswater, awaiting the EPA’s decision.

A letter from the EPA stated the proposal raised “a number of environmental issues”; but the overall environmental impact of the proposal “is not so significant as to require assessment by the EPA”.

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According to a summary, the EPA considered amenity, human health and air quality and atmospheric gases.

Residents were given only 14 days to appeal the decision, a window that closed yesterday.

Bayswater central ward councillors Mayor Barry McKenna, Chris Cornish and Sally Palmer will lead the residents’ rally in support of an EPA assessment.

Their concerns surrounding the development include air pollution, no protection buffer, massive concrete transportation, noise and its location next to a sports park.

Cr Cornish said he called on State Environment Minister Albert Jacob to instruct the EPA to conduct the review.

“SAT have been holding off making a decision… they’ll just rubber stamp it now; that’s that, unless we get the EPA assessment,” he said.

Cr Cornish said the authority should consider the environmental impact of daily production rate, lack of buffer zone and location next to sensitive land.

“They talk about the maximum production rate of 500 cubic metres which would occur a couple of days a year – why are they using that? Just because the applicant says that’s what it’s going to be,” he said.

“Their production capacity is going to be 150 cubic metres an hour… the plant could be producing 1500 cubic metres-plus per day.”

Cr Cornish said there was no buffer zone, despite an EPA requirement to have a 300m-500m zone, depending on the size of the plant.

He said the location next to sensitive land use block Joan Rycroft Reserve was inappropriate, as well as its location next to business Westchem, which was sensitive to dust.

The councillors will gather at Parliament House on Thursday at 11am.