Expansion of Quarry Products’ Harlaxton site approved after lengthy council debate

Despite a request from residents that the council defer making a decision on the project, the quarry at Harlaxton has been granted an approval to expand. Here’s what happened:

A Harlaxton resident says he’s disappointed but not overly surprised that Toowoomba Regional Council approved the expansion of a quarry at Harlaxton.

The council on Wednesday approved an expansion of the Quarry Products’ site at Harlaxton, green lighting its proposal to develop a further 1.2ha parcel of land which is estimated will extend the life of the quarry by a further five years.

Quarry Products submitted plans to the council in September 2019 for an expansion of its quarry along its eastern edge.

According to a council officer’s report which recommended the approval of the application, the extension would mean “no proposed changes to the current operations of the quarry”.

While the application was code assessable, several residents contacted the council “outlining concerns about existing impacts of dust, noise and vibration and expressing concerns that an approval of the application would prolong the life of the quarry”, as well as weed management.

Phil Haxen, Harlaxton resident, has raised concerns about Quarry Products management of weeds on their property, among other concerns.

Speaking at Wednesday’s special council meeting, at which the development application was debated, residents Martin Carey and Phil Haxen urged the council to defer a decision on the expansion for six months to survey locals and conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

Mr Haxen told the meeting the dust from the quarry was “unrelenting”.

“You can’t think of wiping a surface and that surface being clear of the dust a week later, or let alone one day later. It’s continuous,” he said, adding that while the dust deposition was below environmental limits, it still accumulated.

The meeting also heard from Groundwork Plus’ John Taylor, who was acting for applicant Quarry Products.

Mr Taylor said the quarry already had a lifespan of approximately 50 years and the expansion would roughly add another five years.

He also said that as the new Environmental Authority and development approvals had “more onerous” conditions, residents should see some improvement in impacts.

Councillors had to consider that if the quarry expansion were rejected, the quarry would continue to operate unaffected until roughly 2070.

The time limits of the decision making period meant that if the council deferred its decision on Wednesday, the application would have a “deemed approval”.

Crs Carol Taylor, Tim McMahon and James O’Shea voted against the expansion.

Cr Kerry Shine was absent and Cr Paul Antonio left the room over a conflict of interest.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Haxen said the outcome was somewhat disappointing but not altogether surprising.

He was happy to be able to ventilate residents’ issues before a full council meeting.

“I hope the comments of the council will encourage the quarry operators to clean up their act,” he said.