Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman has slammed the proponent of the proposed Plasrefine Recycling Facility, labelling the community consultation process 'simply not good enough' and calling for a change in location.
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The proposed plastics recycling site, delivered by engineering firm GHD in collaboration with Plasrefine, has been met with strong resistance from members of the community.
Chief amongst the concerns for the proposed site on Beaconsfield Road in Moss Vale are proximity to residential areas and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, as well as traffic volume.
Despite GHD holding six community consultations, Mrs Tuckerman said her office has received a high number of complaints about communication.
"Yes I'm annoyed about the lack of transparency and the lack of consideration to the community, credible information needs to be provided," Mrs Tuckerman told the Southern Highland News.
In a speech to NSW Parliament, the member for Goulburn detailed a communication process that she described as 'not good enough.'
"Residents are alarmed that many of the neighbouring properties were not notified of the development until very recently through community word of mouth," she said.
"The proponent claims that nearby residents were first consulted in December 2020, but the feedback to my office is quite the contrary, with many only finding out about it recently through social media channels and general conversations with friends and family. This is simply not good enough."
A 200-strong crowd attended one of the consultancy meetings in November where objections were voiced.
Mrs Tuckerman said that meeting was only able to occur due to pressure being placed on GHD and Plasrefine and that developers should turn their attentions to finding a new site.
"I am advised the community has a petition of over 2,000 signatures thus far, but there were only 23 attendees in the last three online sessions, which simply does not add up," Mrs Tuckerman said.
"Only last week the proponent sought to deny face-to-face consultation and it was only from community and media pressure that we were collectively able to convince it to hold a face-to-face session at the Moss Vale RSL.
"Ultimately it is up to the planning process but my thoughts are that the company needs to reconsider the site on which to put the project."
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be delivered in late 2021 with a public exhibition to be held in early 2022.
Plasrefine have been contacted for comment.
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