Submissions to Council

Now is the time to get a submission into Noosa Council 

UPDATE 14 June 2015: When we need to lobby councillors again, we will post a request here.

Further submissions to Council are being accepted
Fortunately, despite ever-changing plans for the broiler farm proposal over the past two years, Council is still listening to our many legitimate concerns. If you have made a submission in the past, it will be included as part of Council’s assessment process.

If you have something additional to say, or are new to the district, then you should make sure your submission reaches Council by Friday, 17 July 2015.

• The Council email address is: mail@noosa.qld.gov.au
• The Council postal address is: Noosa Council, PO Box 141, Tewantin, QLD 4565
• In the email subject area put: Submission on MCU 12/0184
• Include your name and address.

Our commissioned report dated 4 March 2015 titled ‘Critique of the Chicken Meat Industry Science’ details many other concerns and it can be read HERE.

Our submission committee on 22 August 2014 sent a detailed submission to Council before the 22 September 2014 meeting and it can be found HERE.

Traffic
• Inappropriate vehicles using inappropriate roads.
• School bus, waste collection, and postal routes on the roads add to the potential for accidents.
• Cooroy residential streets, with inappropriate roundabouts and blind road bends, are on the transport route.
• Heavy vehicle trips may be all hours, including very early mornings during catch-out time.

Noise
• A major concern, day and night, to the hundreds of residents up to 3 km from the site.
• Machinery and heavy vehicle noise day and night.
• Includes, reversing trucks, extractor fans, feed delivery systems, bird noise, machinery, pumps, etc.

Dust
• Huge extractor fans discharge dust carrying particles of organic and inorganic origin.
• The organic component consists of dried faecal matter, feathers, plant matter, bacteria, endotoxins and fungi.
• The dust may contaminate drinking water; people in this area rely on tank water.
• Inhalation of fine inorganic dust from poultry operations has the potential to exacerbate asthmatic conditions and cause lung inflammation.

Odour
• Shed operation odours extracted by huge fans.
• Cleaning out shed litter between growing cycles creates odour plumes.
• Transportation of untreated shed wastes off site creates odour along all the local roads.

Submission email address:
mail@noosa.qld.gov.au

Submission postal address:
Noosa Council
PO Box 141
Tewantin QLD 4565

Submission archive from Sunshine Coast Council 2013

The submissions to council are against the proposal by a margin of four to one.

We are publishing selected submissions to council that give excellent reasons for opposing the broiler farm.

The first one is pertinent since it is from people who have experienced life in the midst of what became, in time, a broiler farm complex.

Notes re proposed POULTRY FACTORY at 136 Top Forestry Rd, Ridgewood
MCU 12/ 0104

Attention Kerri Coyle

I am a member of the CARA Committee and attended the group’s meeting of 15^th August at which this controversial matter was ventilated…and at which you were present.

I am writing to you, as promised, not as a representative of CARA but in my personal capacity as someone with some real experience of the development of rural properties as intensive chicken factories.

My wife Adrienne & I resided for about 25 yrs in the Paterson valley about 20 mins drive north from Maitland in the NSW Hunter Valley. Over a period of time we witnessed a very substantial proliferation of the intensive chicken growing industry in that locality and according offer to the Council our observations as follows:

STENCH   At times, especially in hot weather, the whole precinct seemed to radiate a most unpleasant odour…such that we sometimes left the area of our home for a while for some relief. The home on our farm was about half a kilometre from the nearest chicken shed It was not uncommon for visitors to arrive at our home and ask “what the hell is that dreadful smell?”

Also, when a chicken “farmer” chose to spread his chicken litter on his paddock the stench was widespread…for as long as it took for it to be subdued by rainfall!

TRUCK TRAFFIC   this use of the land creates a good deal of large-truck movements…..delivering the food, possibly extra water, arriving to catch chickens en masse then departing, delivering fresh loads of chicks and departing, etc etc. It is important to appreciate that the chicken collection always occurred in the dead of night [ about 1 am]   no doubt this is not something that could be changed by a Council condition as it is probably written into the grower’s Contract with his supplier. Suffice to say these middle-of –the-night disturbances were not received kindly by all those disturbed by them.

DEAD CHICKENS   these were at times a large number…and the growers always buried them by digging a large grave…something that worried us from an environmental point of view as the catchment inevitably flowed into the Paterson River.

PROLIFERATION   sadly we witnessed a very significant downgrading of the rural amenity and character of the beautiful Paterson valley area as one “farmer” after another took up this new land-use…..and we eventually decided to leave the area, seriously dismayed by the “takeover” by these factories which, we believed, were not a RURAL land-use at all.

COOROY TOWNSHIP    it is hard to imagine that the frequent movement of large trucks, servicing EIGHT sheds, through the CBD of Cooroy, will not cause lots of distress in various ways!

We believe that Council will need to consider carefully just how much leeway it would actually have in terms of regulating and enforcing any Conditions it might seek to impose upon any approval  bearing in mind the terms and conditions that the applicant would have to sign up to with his Supplier e.g.  late-night catches.

Clearly there are various other environmental issues associated with such matters as soil and litter run-off, especially on this sloping site….and no doubt other submissions will be made about such matters.

We trust that the points made in this message will be helpful toward Council’s assessment of this important MCU.

Yours truly,
Paul & Adrienne Prentice.
2^nd September 2013.
15 Mt Cooroy Rd, EUMUNDI.

Submission to Council on Cooroy-Belli Creek road traffic
I would like to draw Council’s attention to Sergeant Mal Scott’s mention in the current Cooroy Rag (see below) on the dangers the narrow and winding Cooroy-Belli Creek Road poses to traffic.

This morning I spoke to Sergeant Scott and he said the police activity on Cooroy-Belli Creek Road was the result of two fatal accidents in the past couple of months. In other words, this road was considered a black spot for accidents.

When I mentioned that I was concerned about the use of the road by semi trailers, including B-doubles, for the proposed broiler farm he said that he expected Council’s traffic department would contact him for an opinion on the suitability of the roads proposed for use. This includes the route through Cooroy township that the heavy vehicles may use.

I request that Council very seriously take into account the heavy vehicle usage and seek detailed advice outside of the developer’s own traffic consultants.

Article from the The Cooroy Rag

3 July 2013

Police Beat
Sergeant Mal Scott

The increased traffic enforcement on Cooroy-Belli Creek Road is set to continue with several fines handed out to drivers crossing the double and single unbroken white lines. As mentioned in my previous report, this action was brought about by several very serious traffic accidents, so I ask that all motorists on our roads, especially our hinterland roads which are often very narrow and winding, to take care as police would much rather see good driving practises rather than have to write fines for people.