MEMBERS of the No Quarry For Beveridge/Wallan protest group believe their movement is ‘gathering steam’ after a meeting with Member for Kalkallo Ros Spence on April 20.
The group opposes a proposed quarry south of Wallan, and organised a protest outside Ms Spence’s office.
After meeting with Ms Spence, spokesperson Bill Coustley said group members felt their concerns were being heard at state level.
Among the concerns raised by group members were traffic congestion, noise, potential environmental impacts and a loss of residential land.
Mr Coustley said group members presented Ms Spence with an open letter signed by Wallan residents that Ms Spence promised to deliver to Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.
“We finally feel like we’ve been heard. After hitting brick wall after brick wall, Ros Spence actually seems to be listening to us and taking our concerns to the minister,” he said.
“It was great to see so many people turn up today, it shows just how passionate our community is about this issue. We need to do everything we can to stop this quarry.
“This quarry is not a done deal. Please, if you haven’t already done so jump on Mitchell Council’s website and add your voice to the No Quarry campaign.
“I’d like to thank Ros Spence for taking the time to meet with us and listening to the community’s concerns.”
Ms Spence said she was aware of community opposition to the quarry and would continue to pass community correspondence to Ms Kilkenny.
She said while she would not make a final decision on the quarry, her job was to represent the community’s views, and encouraged the group to keep writing letters.
“It was terrific to meet with such passionate community members and I will continue to represent their views to the responsible minister,” Ms Spence said.
Representatives of Conundrum Holdings, the prospective quarry operator, did not provide comment before the Review’s print deadline.
The Review is owned by Wally Mott, who also owns the land upon which the proposed quarry could be built.
