Sydneysider’s abattoir plan for Mole Creek approved

by Sharon Webb

An abattoir on Mole Creek karst land was approved by Meander Valley Council in September with no councillor speaking in its favour and two councillors strongly objecting to the project.

Sydney developer Denis Durham proposes to process 90 tonnes of pigs, sheep and cattle a year in the abattoir

He will spread animal stomach contents and treated water on the property’s limestone karst land, a plan strongly objected to by neighbours.

In August, the council approved a Mole Creek butcher shop where Mr Durham proposes to sell the meat.

While they did not voice support for the abattoir, Cllrs Cameron, Johnston, Sherriff, King, Bower and Kelly voted for it, because council planner Justin Simons advised it complied with the Meander Valley Planning Scheme.

‘I’m not confident we’d be able to defend a refusal’, Cllr Susie Bower said.

Cllr Michael Kelly warned that objecting to a compliant project in the State’s planning tribunal could be expensive for ratepayers.

Four of the nine objectors to the abattoir, neighbours Michael Channing, Carol Douglas, John Howe and Roger Lane voiced sometimes emotional appeals to the councillors to consider their homes, some within 300m of the proposed abattoir.

Mr Channing told councillors, ‘This is not just a house, it is our home’.

‘The paunch will be spread on a hill where we have observed soil washed out in rain. There is risk of contamination to our grazing paddocks.’

Mrs Douglas, whose living room window will look directly at the abattoir maintained it was ‘totally unsuitable for such an industry to be on karst land’ and that recommendations by highly qualified experts such as local Deb Hunter had been ignored.

The residents, along with Cllr Frank Nott, pointed out that had the decision been made under the incoming Tasmanian Planning Scheme, the abattoir location would have needed to be different because regulations stipulate a 500m distance from surrounding properties rather than 300m.

They also pointed out that geologist Phillip Cullen’s report indicated a geotechnical survey needed to be carried out because only two shallow pits had been dug and two soil samples taken to determine what was beneath the ground.

When Mr Simons described Mr Cullen’s comment as a ‘disclaimer’, Cllr Rodney Synfield disagreed.

‘I definitely disagree that Mr Cullen’s comment is a disclaimer. Modern technologies can go some way to investigating what’s underground’, Cllr Synfield said.

‘I cannot support this. There are too many unknowns.

‘In my view the planning scheme requires us to fully consider the impact of this.’

Both Cllrs Synfield and Nott said that abattoirs inevitably smelt, to which Mr Simons replied, ‘If any aspect of this isn’t working it can be looked at from an environmental health perspective’.

He said that the council would monitor the abattoir twice a year and that if Mr Durham wanted to increase abattoir output he would need to get approval from Tasmania’s Environmental Protection Authority.

Cllr Nott said biannual testing concerned him and that he was disappointed not to see an abattoir management plan before voting on the issue.

Cllr Bower told the objectors, ‘I understand your strong attachment to the sensitive nature of the land at Mole Creek and I have a strong empathy for your views and how this has affected you personally.

‘But an abattoir is a permitted use in this zone and it complies with the current planning scheme.’

Cllrs Rodney Synfield, Frank Nott and John Temple voted against the proposal.