An appeal by the operator of the Kin Kin quarry against Noosa Council action over an alleged breach of its development approval will be heard in court in November.
The matter has been set down for hearing in the Planning and Environment Court after the two parties failed to reach agreement in a conference last month.
Cordwell Resources lodged an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court in February against an enforcement notice issued by the council in January.
A council inspection in August 2023 following a resident complaint allegedly located a fixed plant operating outside of the approved area in a management plan that forms part of the quarry’s development approval.
Court documents describe the machinery as about 10m high and screwed or bolted to concrete.
The council issued a show cause notice, followed by an enforcement notice, requiring Cordwell Resources to remove the plant, or move it to the approved area, within six weeks, with the necessary permits.
Cordwell Resources has asked the court to set aside the enforcement notice on the basis that it cannot be satisfied that an offence occurred or continues to occur.
The company argues that the plant is not fixed because it can be unscrewed from the concrete it sits upon and therefore is not required to be within the approved area.
It claims the plant is being used to further refine materials as per the development approval for the quarry and is operating within the approved plan.
Despite resistance from Cordwell Resources, the council sought a court order for four experts in quarry operation, town planning, traffic and noise and dust to inspect the site to provide evidence to the court.
The council has lodged a number of documents to support its case.
An affidavit by former Noosa Council engineering officer Cliff Menzies says quarry manager Keegan Howell told him during an inspection in August 2023 that a fixed screening plant was being installed.
Quarry consultant Don Reed, in an affidavit, says he is satisfied the subject plant is fixed rather than mobile because it is not mounted on wheels or tracks, is fixed to concrete with bolts, cannot be moved in and out of the area on a blast-by-blast basis, is relatively large and would require a lot of work to relocate, and has been designed to be part of a fixed screening and crushing set-up.
The hearing has been set down for five days from November 25.
The appeal is separate to a Planning and Environment Court case brought by Noosa Council against Cordwell Resources regarding truck movements in and out of the quarry. The matter was heard in 2022 and the judgement is yet to be delivered.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
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