Mareeba quarry’s expansion set for approval despite safety fears
A quarry’s push to increase in truck movements and start earlier is set to be approved despite road concerns.
A quarry supplying Far North Queensland’s busy construction sector is looking to bulk up its Mareeba concrete plant to meet growing demand.
Mareeba Shire Council officers have recommended approving Conmat’s application for 52 heavy vehicle trips on Tinaroo Creek Rd.
The officers say the plant’s activities align with other industrial and agricultural uses in the rural zone.
During the application process, engineers stated more truck movements would wreck local roads further and cause “significant” safety concerns at the nearby Ada Creek crossing.
In their application, Conmat said increasing plant capacity was needed to do early-morning deliveries and argued it would not impose an “unreasonable impact” to the road.
“The current limitations of eight deliveries per day is just unreasonable to operate a viable industrial activity and operations that are critical to private enterprise and public construction projects,” the report said.
“The requested changes do not affect the number of staff or on-site operational elements of the business but do essentially allow for an intensification of the development to meet the current demands of the Mareeba region.”
The quarry has supplied rock, sand and construction materials since 1994.
In 2020, Conmat, which services Atherton, Mareeba, Kuranda, Smithfield and Cairns, restarted concrete-batching operations.
A council report said the batching plant was currently operating outside the bounds of its current approval to meet industry demand.
“While it is acknowledged that the additional heavy vehicle traffic associated with the upscaled batching plant as well as the 4am starts would likely cause some degree of impact on the amenity of Tinaroo Creek Road residences, these impacts are not likely to be substantial or unacceptable,” the report said.
“The bulk of submitter concerns are considered to stem from an unreasonable expectation of
amenity within the Rural zone, particularly considering the long-established industries in the area ... which are all responsible for generating heavy vehicle traffic on Tinaroo Creek Road, sometimes early in the morning and late at night.”
An engineer report warns the increased traffic is accelerating road deterioration and has recommended road upgrades and a formal road safety audit to address the issues.
No crashes have been reported along the Tinaroo Creek Rd section between Kennedy Highway and the subject site in the past five years, according to the report.
Originally published as Mareeba quarry’s expansion set for approval despite safety fears
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