Family plans timber mill

SPOTTED gum timber from Hughenden will be milled at Ravenshoe if a development application for a timber treatment and sawmill plant is approved.

The applicants have temporary arrangements to mill timber at Ravenshoe but want to be based there permanently, operating from 62 Carrick Rd.

“The applicants are a locally owned family business … in the past the hardwood logs have been sold wholesale to local sawmills for processing as well as being exported,” the document states.

The plant would cover 1ha on the property and would have single-storey sheds and a sawmill. “It is proposed that the facility will be limited to the treatment of 500sq m and milling of 1000sq m of timber per annum,” it states.

There would be 77 heavy vehicle movements yearly and hours of operation would be 7am to 6pm from Monday to Friday.

Establishing the treatment plant is a priority.

The application says establishing the facility would encourage economic diversity and provide employment.

The site is 5km from Ravenshoe and would have a setback of at least 300m from neighbouring properties.

“The built form with limited number of heavy-vehicle movements could be considered less than that of a fruitpackaging facility that could be considered as accepted development with the rural zone,” the application to Tablelands Regional Council states.