Peninsula Community Access Edition 293
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11 June 2012
Council to proceed with recycling at Bulls Hill Gosford Council has revived a two-year-old proposal to build a recycling facility at the site of the Bulls Hill quarry. The Council resolved to initiate the Local Environment Plan “gateway process” for a resource recovery facility in Woy Woy at its meeting of Tuesday, June 6,. The site is 750m from Woy Woy Rd and was operated as a sandstone quarry until 1982. A licence for the extractive industry continued until the mid1990s. The land used for the quarry extraction area is now stripped of significant vegetation and accommodates several siltation dams, ballast stockpiles and dumped cars. The matter was previously considered by Council on December 7, 2010, and a planning proposal was forwarded to the Department of Planning, which subsequently requested clarification regarding a number of operational issues. However this was withdrawn when the Council’s City Services Directorate advised that until a Regional Waste Strategy has been investigated it was unwise to proceed. Council was told that the Regional Waste Strategy progressed and it was considered that the development of a resource recovery facility located at Bulls Hill was critical to the future waste management options for Gosford.
An aerial view of the old Bulls Hill quarry site
It was determined that the site be considered in the Regional Waste Strategy and formation of the Joint Central Coast Waste Initiative. Council was told that in 1983
Sinclair Knight and Partners produced a report entitled GosfordWyong Regional Waste Disposal Study which identified four additional sites in Gosford LGA available for future waste disposal.
Only the Bulls Hill Quarry site was considered suitable for a future solid waste disposal site. The study found that the main advantages of the site included a good location clear of residential
areas which was only 2.5km further from the centre of Woy Woy population area than the existing depot, economically controllable environmental impacts, a large volume over which to distribute development costs and a lack of other suitable alternatives. A report from council staff stated that no action was taken at that point as the three existing landfill sites in Green Point, Kincumber and Woy Woy had sufficient capacity for immediate needs. The report stated only the Woy Woy site now operated as landfill and recycling was a necessity. The Woy Woy tip’s life was limited to 2032, based on current usage, according to the report. “It is imperative that Council seeks to prolong its economic life by recycling all suitable material and thus reducing landfill. “The planning proposal provides the capability to divert significant quantities of solid, construction and demolition waste and green waste from the existing landfill.” The site would include a soil processing facility, community re-use facility, an Alternate Waste Technology section for processing of 100,000 tonnes per annum of municipal solid waste, incorporating material from both Gosford and Wyong, and a composting facility for managing 60,000 tonnes per annum of source separated green waste and 15,000 tonnes per annum of biosolids. Gosford Council Agenda ENV.48, 5 Jun 2012
Council supports horse riding school Gosford Council has agreed to support an application for a new horse riding school on Empire Bay Dr, Empire Bay.
The proposed site for the horse riding school in Empire Bay
The proposal includes improvements to the existing agistment facilities on the property including the upgrade of an existing holding paddock, the formalisation of a holding paddock to a lesson arena, the formalisation of the view area, the upgrade of three existing spelling paddocks and use of the widened driveway for client parking. The proposal provides
for a local “animal training establishment” that would service the greater Peninsula and Bouddi catchment and provide local part time employment and economic benefits for local families. It would also provide a local recreational facility for young people and people with disabilities who wanted to learn horse riding skills. In addition, the proposal sought to establish a valuable small scale tourist facility that would service the growing day trip and overnight market.
A staff assessment of the proposal presented to Gosford Council on Tuesday, June 7, stated that there was a strong demand for additional horse riding facilities in the area with only one other commercial operation which was already operating to capacity and had limited availability for additional students. The council will initiate the Local Environmental Plan “gateway process” to enable the proposal to proceed. Gosford Council Agenda ENV.49, 5 Jun 2012
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