Quarry owner wants Toowoomba Regional Council to help pay for road upgrade near Pittsworth

The owner of a quarry that was approved for an expansion by the Toowoomba Regional Council has requested the TRC help pay for the cost of a mandatory road upgrade.

The Brookview Quarry on Scrubby Rd near Pittsworth.

Starrkraft Pty Ltd was given the green light at a special council meeting in September to expand the Brookview Quarry, on the intersection of Scrubby and Jentz Rds near Pittsworth, to a maximum output of 500,000 tonnes per year.

Now the company has brought the matter back to a special meeting this week, contending with nine conditions in the approval that relate to the upgrade of Scrubby Rd at its expense.

According to consulting mineral engineers Ausrocks, who wrote to the TRC on behalf of its client, the council should cover 55 per cent of the costs associated with the upgrade.

“We have calculated the number of heavy vehicles from the site and have determined that the quarry contributes to approximately 71 per cent of heavy vehicle traffic on Scrubby Rd, or about 55 per cent when keeping in mind there was no requirement to upgrade the road in the prior approval,” the letter said.

“Therefore, we request that the council deletes (the) conditions and adds a condition for the opportunity for the applicant to enter into an infrastructure agreement with the council for 55 per cent of the cost of the Scrubby Rd upgrade.”

TRC planner Nadia McLeod has recommended the councillors reject the request, saying the conditions are “reasonable and relevant” based on the assessment framework.

The meeting will be held at the Annex behind City Hall on Wednesday at 2pm.

Originally published as Quarry owner wants Toowoomba Regional Council to help pay for road upgrade near Pittsworth