Waste company to take council to court over landfill denial

More than 320 public submissions were received in objection to the proposal.

A WASTE company will take Ipswich City Council to court after its application to extend the height of a landfill site was refused.

Cleanaway will file an appeal against the decision to the Planning and Environment Court, which could prove to be a lengthy and costly process for both parties.

In a letter to interim administrator Greg Chemello, Cleanaway's general manager for solid waste services David Wheeley wrote it was an "extremely disappointing" result.

"Cleanaway has worked very hard, including by amending its application, to deliver a sensible and comprehensive proposal," he said.

"(It) would provide a short to medium-term extension to the operation of our New Chum waste management facility, with improved environmental outcomes and little, if any, change to the operations and impacts on the surrounds.

"Extending the existing operations at Cleanaway's New Chum facility would have provided the community with the certainty to meet a need for solid inert waste landfill without detracting from policies to ultimately move towards greater diversion from landfill."

The council refused the application as it believed the extension would not have achieved "appropriate rehabilitation outcomes" for the former mine, among other concerns.

The extension would have resulted in the peak of the landfill being about 85m and about 25m higher than the western edge of the former mining void.

More than 320 public submissions were received in objection to the proposal.

Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments secretary Geoff Yarham said Cleanaway was treating the people of Ipswich with "uttter disdain".

"The people of Ipswich are going to suffer financially because they haven't met the criteria of the application," he said.

"It was refused on many grounds and as part of the application, Ipswich City Council requested further information from them and Cleanaway declined to provide that."

The council has not received any formal notification that an appeal has been lodged.

"There is no avenue for council to now negotiate with Cleanaway on the development application, as a decision has been formally made under the Planning Act," a spokesman said.

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