Residents of the Ravensbourne area have raised concerns with their State Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, in relation to local bore water being extracted for commercial purposes.
Mrs Frecklington met with members of the Ravensbourne community at Sketches on Wednesday 8th April to provide the group with assistance in relation to the recent development assessment process being undertaken by the Toowoomba Regional Council.
“The owner of the property was recently issued with a ‘Show Cause’ notice by Council as they have been taking water for bottling for about nine years now without a development approval,” she said.
“This has led to the owners choosing to not only seek the development approval but to request permission to operate the premises on a 24 hour basis and to remove vegetation along the Esk-Hampton Road,”
“I understand the community’s concerns, especially in regards to the fact that there is no local economic benefit. This is because there are no employees at the site, the water is simply removed by the tanker drivers and taken away to the factory for bottling,” Deb said.
“There is also a major concern about the use of the Esk-Hampton Road by the B-Double tankers which visit the site approximately four-six times each day, causing noise and dust issues. Plus, as they travel fully-loaded back down the range they cause significant delays and damage to this stretch of very windy road,” she said.
Deb said she’ll be making enquiries on behalf of the residents to help answer the many questions they have in relation to this development application.
“The community did have a representative attend the Development Assessment Panel process, however, I would like to see their concerns raised further with Council. There are many other questions also being raised in relation to this industry and I’ll also be taking these to the relevant State Government Departments for clarification,” she said.
