NEIGHBOURS of a proposed $5 million organic waste recycling plant have said the planned location is “just crazy”.
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Residents from around Duri-Wallamore Rd are set to lobby right up until the last minute with three locals to present a case to the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) on Thursday.
“It’s just the wrong place,” David Gowing told The Leader.
“It’s just crazy, it will be right at the end of the airport.”
Bio-security was a chief concern for Mr Gowing who feared the development could lead to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
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“The risks are small but the consequences would be tremendous,” he said.
Don George will also make a presentation to the JRPP on Thursday and has concerns for surrounding farmland and visitors flying into Tamworth.
“The odour will be one of the biggest problems,” Mr George said.
“I think it’s the wrong place.”
“If you get a north-westerly breeze, it’ll blow straight through to the terminal.”
According to council’s development application, odour, bio-security, noise, wastewater, traffic, the loss of agricultural land and the look of the facility were listed as potential impacts.
“The proposed facility has been designed to process up to 32,000 tonnes per annum of source separated organic waste including food and garden organics, timber, paunch, highly putrescible (decaying) solid waste, general solid waste and liquid waste,” council’s development application said.
Tamworth Regional Councillors voted in favour of seeking a green light from the JRPP and some said the facility could be advantageous for local agriculture.
“I understand the concerns,” Juanita Wilson said.
“It’s in our very best interests to make facility run well.”
She said the recycling facility could create fertiliser products to fill the gap with shortages of “super-phosphates”.
“It’s real value-adding to businesses,” Russell Webb said. He said businesses would be able to turn products, which might have gone to waste, into fertiliser for agriculture in the region.