‘We haven’t given up’ Lansdown protesters to fight on
THE fight to stop the Lansdown Industrial Precinct is not over for the Woodstock Action Group and its president Chris Eastaughffe.
On Tuesday, Townsville City Council passed an amendment to its planning scheme that will allow the precinct to go ahead.
The Woodstock development has been touted as a jobsgenerating lifesaver for the region but has received significant backlash since it went to public consultation last year.
Local residents, including Mr Eastaughffe, have called for the development to be scrapped over concerns about water and air pollution and its “inappropriate” location.
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.
On Tuesday, Mayor Jenny Hill said the precinct had been identified as an important project to help the region recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
But Mr Eastaughffe said the fight wasn’t over yet.
“We haven’t given up, the fact that this has been rubberstamped by people with other agendas is something we need to expose,” he said.
Mr Eastaughffe said the pandemic had made it difficult for the group to meet and discuss their next move, but they felt their issues had been largely ignored.
Cr Hill said the council took the concerns seriously.
“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,” she said.