Geelong’s council administrators have knocked back controversial plans for a quarry near Lara that could create 65 jobs.
The administrators decision contrasted the opinion of “various state authorities” that decided against opposing the Bisinella application, according to a statement from City Hall.
City Hall received 240 written objections against the proposal for quarrying sand on two sites covering 168 hectares of You Yangs foothills.
Both sites were zoned for farming and subject to a significant landscape overlay covering the foothills, said council planning and development general manager Peter Bettess.
Tuesday night’s decision was based on a recommendation from a council-appointed committee that heard submissions on the quarry.
The committee considered the proposal unsatisfactory, particularly in terms of the economic, visual, amenity and traffic outcomes, Mr Bettess said.
The committee also believed that the plan had failed to pass a “high level of scrutiny”.
Council believed the committee’s recommendation “should be accepted (because) it had heard submissions from all parties, including the applicant, objectors and council officers”, Mr Bettess said.
Objectors mostly argued on environmental and amenity grounds, including concerns about additional truck traffic through Lara. Bisinella said the quarry would supply essential materials for local projects, creating up to 65 jobs.
The Geelong Indy has sought comment from Bisinella, including on whether it plans to appeal council’s decision at the state’s planning tribunal.
The proposed quarry sites are off Sandy Creek and Bacchus Marsh roads, Little River.
