TAMWORTH'S long-proposed organic waste recycling plant will once again face opposition following the council's purchase of a new patch of land on the city's northern outskirts.
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Neighbouring residents at the proposed Appleby Lane site have already voiced their objection before a development application has even been lodged.
They have a range of concerns including increased traffic and potential seepage into the local groundwater supply.
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It's also proposed the plant would recycle food scraps and waste from the city's various abattoirs, so smell is looming as a concern for the locals as well.
At least one councillor is expecting objections to be forthcoming once the council lodges its development application.
A number of people requested to have the land purchase vote moved to open council at this week's ordinary meeting.
The request was shot down due to commercial factors.
At the meeting, Russell Webb said there were some "good reasons" for the community objection to the chosen site, but the time for them to be heard would be once the development application was lodged.
Cr Webb said he wasn't "100 per cent convinced" it was the right location.
"I will look a the DA along with everyone else and assess it at that point in time," he said.
The previously picked location faced objection as well and Cr Webb said it was a project which wouldn't get universal support wherever it was placed.
However, he said the concept was very good and there would be more focus on "productive recycling" in the future.
As the land at Appleby Lane has been identified as a location for future organics recycling facility, interested community members have been encouraged to attend the council's community information session on Thursday, 18 July 2019 at 5:30 pm at the Tamworth Community Centre.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
