Workers’ camp at Walkamin given the go-ahead

ACCOMMODATION for 218 agricultural workers will be built at 601 Channel Rd at Walkamin after Tablelands Regional Council approved the development.

Walkamin Enterprises owner Jennifer Disley has signed a contract to sell her 601-603 Channel Rd property to Rock Ridge Farming.

The latter business is a family-owned enterprise with multiple banana and avocado farms across the Tablelands region – two crops that have been smashed by picker shortages in recent years.

Rock Ridge Farming will expand a seasonal worker accommodation facility on the site from its current 24 beds up to 218 in eight demountable buildings.

Council said a full-time caretaker must reside and be present while there were people accommodated, to minimise potential impacts such as from noise and anti-social behaviour.

Accommodation such as tents, recreational vehicles, caravans or the like is prohibited. The development includes kitchens, recreational and an amenities building with a selfcontained manager’s residence.

“While a workers’ camp, the facility will also act as an approved quarantine facility under the Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Worker Program,” the development application states.

“Such a facility will not only serve the requirements of Rock Ridge Farming to source and quarantine their own workers but will provide a regional facility that will have the ability to service the broader labour shortages being experienced across the shire.”