Birds Rd, Guanaba residents ‘up in arms’ over heavy vehicle transport depot plan for beauty spot
Locals furious over alleged truck movements and site clearing in one of the Gold Coast’s most scenic areas have vowed to fight a proposed heavy vehicle ‘transport depot’. FULL DETAILS
Gold Coast
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THE owner of an earthworks company is seeking council permission for a “transport depot” for heavy vehicles in an area described as the “Jewel of the Hinterland”.
Dig’it Constructions owner Darren Tolley has applied to council for permission to operate the depot at 279 Birds Rd in Guanaba.
Planning documents reveal the application comes “in response to compliance action issued by Council – noting heavy vehicles were being unlawfully parked on site.”
A photograph included by the proponent in its submission to council showed heavy vehicles and trailers at the location, with locals opposed to the application telling the Bulletin their coming and going had caused them traffic, noise and safety concerns.
“They call it the ‘Jewel of the Hinterland’,” one resident said. “They make movies here and we get a lot of tourists. That’s the type of area it is.
“People ride horses and stuff around here and those trucks are going in and out.
“There’s no footpaths. It’s all narrow, windy roads. The trucks get stuck and the cars bank up for miles.
“The access to the site is absolutely appalling. They have to turn across the two carriageways and the traffic stops in all directions. They’re often struggling to get up hills.
“They’re just not suited for an area like this. They should be in an industrial area.”
The resident claimed locals had also been disturbed by noise from the site late at night and had been dismayed to see significant land clearing take place there.
“For maybe a two or three kilometre radius everyone is up in arms about it,” the resident said.
“They go night and day. You can hear them, literally at midnight, cleaning trucks with pressure washers. It goes 24/7. Saturdays and Sundays and everything.”
Division 5 councillor Peter Young said there were a number of compliance investigations by council into activities at the site, which was bought by Mr Tolley and wife Carly for $637,500 in August 2016.
“I’ve been out there near the site a couple of times myself,” Cr Young said.
“It’s just been an ongoing string of complaints and compliance investigations and waste of ratepayers money trying to get this land use curtailed.”
Cr Young said ratepayer funds had also been spent repairing damage to roads council believed was caused by heavy vehicles accessing the site, while there had been “impacts” on downstream property owners from “sediment being discharged from the site where it wasn’t retained properly”.
Cr Young said that if Mr Tolley’s development application was refused, he would be seeking to have the site “properly reinstated” to its previous condition.
“It’s pretty devastating what been done to that property,” he said.
“From aerial photography you can see the extent of the damage. From the road you can see it, from other properties you can see it. It’s just an abhorrent situation.”
In a statement to the Bulletin, council said its investigations were ongoing.
“The City has been investigating this site in relation to a number of compliance matters,” a spokesperson said. “Our investigations are continuing.”
In the planning application lodged in June last year consultants Michel Group on behalf of Mr Tolley said he was seeking permission to store four heavy vehicles with a maximum length of 15m at the property.
Planning officers, in an ‘information request’ letter the following month recommended Mr Tolley withdraw the application before further costs were incurred.
Officers said the proposed development was “considered to conflict with the scenic amenity values of the rural landscape and environment,” that the movement of heavy vehicles would “impose significant adverse noise impacts on the amenity of adjacent properties” and said there was “significant potential for landslides during major storm events” due to “extensive earthworks and removal of vegetation”.
The officers said that while there was an existing approval in place for the construction of a retaining wall, it did not allow for “the extent of vegetation clearing and earthworks” which had taken place.
Officers also said they could find “no certification in Council’s system” for an approximately 110 square metre shed on the property and requested it be removed.
In response, Michel Group said it was “important to note” that the proposal did not involve any further vegetation clearing or earthworks and “council can undertake compliance action related to previous works as needed.”
“Many nearby rural properties and rural uses involve heavy vehicle movements for deliveries of feed, transport of livestock etc and therefore heavy vehicles are a common occurrence in the locality and are considered a reasonable expectation,” the consultants said.
Although his company’s Facebook page lists its place of business as the Birds Rd property and features pictures of heavy vehicles parked there, Mr Tolley, who lives in Pacific Pines, told the Bulletin that Dig’it Constructions was instead run from a yard in Molendinar.
Mr Tolley, who also has plans to construct a 539sq m five-bedroom house at the site, said the purpose of the application was to allow him somewhere to park personal work vehicles.
“It’s really so I can park my work truck and have the work truck, trailer and excavator all on the one property,” Mr Tolley said.
“I’ve got a yard in Molendinar. This is just (for) my personal truck so I can take it home.”
Mr Tolley said he believed his trucks were not inappropriate for an area where equestrian vehicles were also used.
“Mate, just have a look around, everyone’s got the same sort of bloody trucks,” he said.
“People who are carrying horseloads and stuff mate, they’ve all got two and three horses on their property.
“My trucks aren’t any different.”
In response to concerns about land clearing at the property, Mr Tolley, who said he had spent $50,000 to date on planning matters, said “everything’s been DA (development application) approved mate”, while he also stated that the movement of heavy vehicles observed by residents was related to the construction of retaining walls.
“Well I’ve got a DA on it to build rock retaining walls, mate,” Mr Tolley said. “It’s pretty hard to bring them in on a ute when they’re 600 kilos each.”
The development application to allow the “transport depot” was opened to Public Notification on January 31. Residents have until February 22 to have their say on the proposal.
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