A long-running protest from Sunshine Coast hinterland residents over the number of quarry trucks on their roads has escalated to the next level this week.
Noosa councillors have voted to start legal proceedings against the operators of the Kin Kin Quarry, Cordwells Concrete, because of what they believe are on-going breaches of the haulage plan.
The management requirements include staggered departures from the site of five minutes, keeping a minimum of 60m between trucks and no overtaking of other vehicles, among many others.
At a heated meeting of the Save the Hinterland Group on Wednesday night, Noosa mayor Clare Stewart announced that Cordwells had just been served with another round of breach notices with fines totalling $27,000.
The overall total now stands at $54,000.
“I am firmly convinced that the range is not suitable for that volume of heavy trucks, and style of heavy trucks,” added Sergeant Dan McNamara, the Pomona Police boss.
Noosa Council CEO Brett de Chastel said the next step is for the community to help gather the necessary evidence, a process that is expected to take up to 12 weeks.
He said the idea of bringing in a new team of lawyers to take a fresh look at the existing Quarry Management Plan was proposed by the mayor.
“She wanted to explore whether there were any angles we could look at to get into court to fight what’s going on because what’s going on now is not right,” he said.
Big Rigs has approached Cordwells for comment.
Cordwells Concrete spokesperson Martin Cordwell told the ABC in October that he disputed the figure of 250 daily truck movements and said the quarry operates under a cap.
“When the demand is there to travel further and the work is there the trucks are definitely going to come and that’s capped by our output at a million tonnes a year,” Cordwell said.
“It’s capped by our road regulation and safety that we try and uphold on a daily basis.”
Cordwell is a coast local said he was willing to work with the community.
“Safety is obviously imperative so if there’s anything we can work on for safety that’s what we will be able to find out.”