Construction material company Boral will start rehabilitation works on a retired Miners Rest quarry that is touted to be converted into a residential estate.
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A letter dated September 23 from Boral southern region stakeholder relations adviser Julia Preston to local residents confirmed Boral would conduct works on the land.
“Under the lease terms and the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 Boral is required to rehabilitate the site to a standard which is satisfactory to both the landowner and the Earth Resources Regulation, which supports the Minister for Energy and Resources as Victoria’s resources and mining industry regulator,” the letter read.
“Following rehabilitation, the site will be handed back to the landowner and any future use will be at their discretion.”
A flyer to local residents from Boral established that the rehabilitation works aimed to ensure the safety of the site, ensure land surfaces don’t erode and protect the existing groundwater.
“Rehabilitation will also include re-shaping some of the quarry faces, removing the surrounding visual earth barriers (bunds) and general restoration of the area,” the flyer read.
“While Boral is not the landowner, the secondary objective of the project is to give the site some useful purpose into the future.”
Property owner Kevin Clarke purchased the 60-hectare site six years ago and has plans to subdivide the land into an estate with more than 100 homes.
Mr Clarke said he was excited to move forward with the project.
“Now that we know the final lay out of the land we can start (planning),” he said.
“That’s what the hold up has been and now we can start putting in the papers to council.”
He said he expects the works to start as early as next month and be finished by March next year.
Despite the progress, Mr Clarke said he is “not happy” with City of Ballarat’s plan to build a controversial livestock saleyards facility near the quarry.
“We’re not happy about it, but it shouldn’t prevent us from being able to move forward,” he said.
City of Ballarat development and planning director Angelique Lush said council has not received a planning application for the quarry.
“The land is not zoned for residential development and the City of Ballarat has not received a planning application for the site,” she said.