LANSDOWN GETS GO-AHEAD
A CONTROVERSIAL industrial precinct at Woodstock that received significant public backlash will become a reality after Townsville City Council signed off on a crucial amendment.
Touted as a jobs-generating industrial precinct, the Lansdown Industrial Precinct at Woodstock is primed to be transformed into an environmentally sustainable, advanced manufacturing, processing and technology estate.
Imperium3’s battery plant, motorsport facility Driveit NQ, Pure Minerals’ Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub and a solar farm by Edify Energy have all been flagged for potential development at the site, despite backlash from the Woodstock community.
A CONTROVERSIAL industrial precinct at Woodstock that received significant public backlash will become a reality, after Townsville City Council signed off on a crucial amendment.
Touted as a jobs-generating industrial precinct, the Lansdown Industrial Precinct at Woodstock is primed to be transformed into an environmentally sustainable, advanced manufacturing, processing and technology estate.
Imperium3’s battery plant, motorsport facility Driveit NQ, Pure Minerals’ Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub and a solar farm by Edify Energy have all been flagged for potential development at the site.
The Lansdown site had been identified for future industrial development for more than 20 years but received backlash from the Woodstock community when it went to public consultation late last year.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said the plans for the site would help drive economic growth in North Queensland.
“This growth and job creation are important for our economic recovery from the COVID-19 global pandemic as well as our long-term future,” she said.
“Council welcomes the State Government’s approval of our proposed amendment and will continue to engage with project partners to progress potential projects for the Lansdown Industrial Precinct.”
Former state development, manufacturing, infrastructure and planning minister Cameron Dick signed off on the amendment in early April.
He congratulated the council on adopting its first planning scheme amendment under the Planning Act.
Cr Hill said there were still some residents with concerns future developments would negatively impact the health and amenity of the area.
“Council has taken these concerns very seriously,” she said.
“That’s why we imposed a raft of additional requirements, including those conditioned by the State Government, that any future development on the site will have to meet on top of the rigorous standards already in place.”
The new rules include retaining part of the site in a rural zone to protect water quality, increased scrutiny and level of assessment of applications to use the land for industrial purposes, new rules in the sport and recreation zone to minimise noise pollution, additional rules and provisions in the industry zone relating to landscaping, noise amenity, vibration and groundwater, and additional provisions for the protection of water quality and groundwater resources.
The council discussed a commissioned groundwater study in the area in which the council had offered free testing of bores.
However, it is understood not many residents took part in the free testing.