Balancing act for council on precinct

CREATING space for new job-creating industries in Townsville at the Lansdown Industrial Precinct site in Woodstock will be good for growing our city’s population and economic portfolio in the years to come.

But Townsville City Council must balance its desire for economic growth and prosperity through Lansdown with transparency, to the best of its ability, to assure residents that this is also in their best interest and not just about dollar signs and increasing the ratepayer base.

The proposed rezoning of councilowned land at Woodstock into Townsville’s newest high-impact industrial precinct is now in the hands of the State Government, after the council voted through the plan.

Woodstock residents opposed to the plan have vowed to fight on, fearing their way of life and the safety of the environment would be at risk.

Mayor Jenny Hill and the council, in the meeting yesterday, argued that they had done their utmost to be transparent, by increasing the public consultation period, going through every submission with a fine-tooth comb, providing reports, and making amendments to the original proposal.

On the flip side, the council has given mixed messages on why the Townsville State Development Area, which exists to house high-impact industry, is supposedly unsuitable as it currently stands for what is so far proposed for Lansdown.

The concerns of the Woodstock residents, who council will likely never win over regardless of what it does, must be seen and addressed sincerely and thoroughly every step of the way.

The battery plant, chemical refinery, solar farm and Driveit NQ will create jobs, but we cannot have prosperity in Townsville if we don’t bring the majority of the community with us.