Lani Jensen, Middle Pocket
Residents should be aware of the industrial alcohol factory that is proposed for the Middle Pocket. While it calls itself a ‘micro’ distillery it is in fact an industrial factory that can produce 1,200 litres of pure alcohol per day, seven days per week.
This equates to 438,000 litres of pure alcohol a year. This is larger than sales of Bombay Gin and Bacardi Rum in Australia together and roughly half of Bundaberg Rum. This can be watered down to an unlimited amount of ready-to-drinks/alcopops.
Included in the DA is a shop/industrial retail outlet that would attract an unpoliceable number of visitors. It states that 75 per cent of the produce will be produced onsite; however, everything will be trucked in and the only thing ‘farmed’ will be water.
We believe the traffic impact is grossly underestimated, considering Stage 1 to 2 increases from 200L per day to 1200L per day, producing six times more volume, but the vehicles only by two cars. The road is unsafe already, has four blind corners, including the entrance and numerous creek crossings. The site is completely unsuited – it is inaccessible in floods, in a bushfire zone, and sits 1.5km from a nature reserve in a rural valley.
We are hoping to meet with all community members. You can find out more on facebook.com/middlepocketcommunity.
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