A MOUNT Cotton lobby group is stepping up its campaign to thwart plans to extend a quarry in its neighbourhood.
The group is asking all Redland City councillors and local state MPs to make public their views on an application by Barro Group to extend operations at their Mount Cotton quarry.
Quarry operator Barro Group submitted an application to the council to extend its Mount Cotton Road quarry footprint in February 2011.
The land where the operations will be extended adjoins Barro’s existing quarry at 1513 Mount Cotton Road and can be accessed from Gramzow Road.
Group member Luke Dalgish said residents had until July 11 to submit concerns about the application to the council.
He said his group was also lobbying Division 6 councillor Julie Talty to set up a community meeting to discuss the ramifications of the Gramzow Road quarry proposal.
Mr Dalgish said it was still unknown whether the state government would call in the application and take over the decision making from the council.
“We would really like the state to call in the application and decide it cannot go ahead so the matter would be decided once and for all,” Mr Dalgish said.
“But the previous government refused to call in the application even though Peter Dowling, who was then the deputy mayor, wanted the application to be refused.
“Now we are asking all councillors and the three local MPs what their stance is on the application,” Mr Dalgish said.
The lobby group has also drawn up a petition outlining 11 reasons the application should be refused.
One of those reasons claims the proposal would harm the “significant” local koala population, in direct contravention of the State Planning Policy.
Another states there is not enough evidence to prove the risks from small dust particles, blasting, vibration and flyrock were less than the state minimum standards.
The petition also claims the development would destroy rainforests at California Creek.
A Barro Group spokesman said the application before the council was to extend the current quarry on Mount Cotton Road within the existing quarry’s property holding.
He said it was not a new quarry even though it had a different street address.
The spokesman said quarrying would only occur on 28 per cent of the Barro Group’s entire lot holdings at Mount Cotton.
The remaining 72 per cent, or more than 170 ha, would be quarried and then revegetated or not quarried at all and protected. He also said Redland City Council received the development application to extend the quarry in February 2011 and the plans had been on the public record since then and open for discussion.
