Geraldton council passes motion to continue limesand extraction at Cape Burney despite opposition of Mayor

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn was the sole voice of opposition as the council voted to continue limesand extraction at Cape Burney, despite concerns of the impact of erosion.

A motion was proposed to renew the approval licence for limesand extraction at a lot in Cape Burney for five years.

Cr Van Styn foreshadowed a motion to refuse the application, stating that time should be given to review the situation and investigate the impact continued mining would have on Geraldton’s beaches.

“We have volunteer groups large scale sandbagging at Point Moore, due to mounds falling into the sea, beaches are eroding left right and centre, and here we are approving mining of a valuable limesand resource that supplies sand along our coast,” he said.

Mr Van Styn also said the company involved in the project had previously failed to meet compliance by mining outside its area.

Other councillors said the company was now managing the project properly and was working with the City, and the limesand was needed for local farms.

“It provides the sand required out in farms that is obviously important ... and if we didn’t mine it, a lot of houses would be inundated with sand very soon, so it’s providing a solution to a problem ... I think it is an essential requirement that we approve this,” Cr Michael Raymond said.

“It is actually important for our community to have this industry here, particularly for our agricultural industry,” Cr Natasha Colliver said while acknowledging the issue of sand drift and erosion.”

An amendment to the motion, proposed by Cr Michael Librizzi, was made to reduce the period from five to three years, to give more flexibility and to not unnecessarily give more time than State Government regulations require.

The council voted seven to one to approve the motion, with Mr Van Styn the only one to vote against, meaning extraction will continue for the next three years.