Santin’s Quarry withdraws Lismore City Council Land and Environment Court action

A Northern Rivers quarry owner says “absolutely unrealistic” conditions have led to him withdrawing legal action to extend the life of his business. Here is why.

A legal bid to extend the life of Santin Quarry at Monaltrie has been withdrawn.

A Northern Rivers quarry has withdrawn legal action against Lismore City Council after the council refused to extend the life of its operations.

The Santin Quarry, operated by Michael Santin, has withdrawn from a Land and Environment Court challenge to the refusal before it reached hearing.

The council refused a request to extend the life of the quarry at Monaltrie in December 2020.

The council’s reasons included the project not being in the public interest and its impact on the area.

The Santin Quarry, which was first approved in 1993, only had approval to operate until February 12.

Mr Santin sought to extend the life of the quarry by 16 years, but did not seek to increase the rate of production.

Some nearby residents said they did not object to quarry, but simply wanted a new development application lodged to ensure it met modern standards.

Mr Santin said a number of new building guidelines were introduced before the court hearing.

“The reason for us pulling out of the Land and Environment Court appeal was the absolutely unrealistic conditions that they put on through Land and Environment Court planning, which had never come up in the original approval by council,” he said.

“The ridiculous part about (the quarry) meeting all those requirements was that all they were giving was approval for three to five years.”

He said he was considering his options for the future of the site.

Lismore City Council Mayor Vanessa Ekins welcomed Mr Santin’s decision to cease all legal actions.

“It is good to have a resolution before it costs council and ratepayers even more money,” she said.

“Council is still in negotiations regarding costs that we have incurred.