Teven and Tintenbar residents were last night informed that an asphalt plant proposed for their area would not be proceeding after Holcim, the owner of the quarry site where it was to be located, withdrew its approval.
A letter to residents from Holcim’s NSW aggregates GM Stephen Mossie said the group had ‘not been able to reach an acceptable business arrangement with [proponent] Fulton Hogan.
The letter went on to thank the Teven and Tintenbar community for their feedback.
Josh Browne, president of the Teven Tintenbar Community Association which spearheaded the protest, said, We live in a peaceful valley that’s full of guardians who have just shown the world they will protect the paradise that is Teven.
‘The people of Teven and Tintenbar have shown their strength and proven their determination to safeguard the natural environment. You can’t eat asphalt and you can’t eat money,’ he added.
Tintenbar resident and Ballina’s deputy mayor Keith Williams said it was ‘a relief for all concerned and he thanked the local community that came out in force, wrote hundreds of letters and made it clear to the proponents that it just wasn’t worth proceeding’.
‘As a community we made it clear that we would fight for as long and as far as it took. We had the resources and the expertise all living locally.’
‘I’d particularly like to thank the local management of Holcim, who responded to the strong community opposition.
‘Holcim and its predecessors have been in this community a long time. They sponsor numerous community and sporting groups. I think once they became aware of the potential cost of the negative publicity, the income from the rental of a small area of land at the quarry really couldn’t compensate.’
‘I’d like to encourage Fulton Hogan to continue to work with Council to find a suitable site for the asphalt plant within the Shire. We do have Industrial zoned land available and we will continue to need asphalt and employers. This was simply the wrong site.’
‘I will forever be proud of my little community. I love living here. In this place. With these people. We stared down the barrel and we didn’t flinch,’ Mr Williams said.
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