Dust-up over messy sportsground works
UPGRADES to sports fields at a Cairns school have covered a nearby neighbourhood in plumes of dust and caused health concerns for some residents.
The work, at Peace Lutheran College, began mid last year, and the school’s principal Anthony Mueller said he was aware of concerns of nearby residents.
He said steps had already been made to “mitigate” the dust problem.
“The college is aware there were some issues before Christmas and these were dealt with in a proactive manner with the use of water trucks,” Mr Mueller said.
But dozens of neighbours say the problem is ongoing, including Ros Bishop, who said she had developed a persistent cough since the work began.
“It’s just a niggling cough, all the time,” she said.
“I’d clean in the morning and I’d have to clean again in the afternoon.
“We’ve rung the school and they promised me it would be seeded by January, this is in December, and it’s virtually still weeds.”
Others, like boilermaker Gary Clarke, are considering taking legal action against the school.
He said his experience on construction sites told him the school wasn’t spending enough money to upgrade the fields and control dust at the same time.
“We gave them the benefit of the doubt because they were a school, so we sat back a long time, and then we were just getting dust constantly,” he said.
“We went and saw the business manager up there and I said give us a $100 Bunnings voucher for the effort we’ve had to put in to clean up.”
Division 6 Cairns Councillor Linda Cooper said she had received complaints from residents last year and council officers had raised these with the school.
“I do think in situations, particularly when they are close to residential areas, more needs to be done to contain dust,” she said.
“People suffer from a variety of things and dust can become a health issue.”
But Mr Mueller was adamant conditions had improved since Christmas.
“The college’s administration has been made aware of some complaints from a member of the community regarding dust from this development,” he said.
“Since Christmas, works have been minimal due to the impact of the wet weather experienced, however, if there were the threat of dust issues, the mitigating strategies, such as the deployment of a water truck, would be used.
“The college continues to monitor these conditions and the project’s daily operations to minimise any impact from these works.” Watch the video online at www.cairnspost.com.au