Community members have taken up the fight to stop a quarry in Wallan/Beveridge with almost 200 submissions in just a few hours at the Wallan Twilight Market recently.
Residents were very vocal about their concerns around traffic congestion, vibrations, noise, dust, health issues, catchment and water table pollution and environmental impacts during discussions with Mitchell Shire Council officers.
The plan to install traffic lights on the Northern Highway to accommodate on average 30 extra truck movements during peak hour each day was met with dismay and anger. The consensus of many was that they could not see any benefit to the community from this quarry.
There was also much concern about vibrations from the explosives, with one resident who had lived near a quarry before recalling their house shaking during blasting operations.
Council has twice rejected planning permits for the proposed quarry at 175 Northern Highway, Wallan.
With more than 121,000 people likely to call the corridor from Beveridge to Wallan home in the next 20 years, good planning is essential. The proposed quarry would sterilise land that would otherwise be developed to deliver essential infrastructure and services to this growing community.
You can make a submission to the Victorian Planning Authority on the Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan - which includes the proposed development of a quarry on the side of Spring Hill - online via the link below.
Submissions close 5pm, Friday 17 December.
