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Western Australia Party for SWAN HILLS
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06.01.2022 WIN FOR UPPER SWAN DISTRICTS Locals fed up with the stench from a bitumen plant caught illegally operating in the Swan Valley are celebrating after their three-year battle to halt operations came to an end. The WA Planning Commission yesterday refused a planning scheme amendment that would have paved the way for #Bitutek to operate a bitumen processing plant on Great Northern Highway in Upper Swan.... #Bitutek was granted approval in 2016 for a transport depot with incidental workshop, bitumen binder, water storage tanks and the capacity to store bitumen onsite. However it was prohibited from blending, mixing or heating bitumen products on-site, as it is considered an industrial activity and could not be approved under the local planning scheme. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation had previously issued the company with a warning last year for failing to obtain a works approval and licence before starting operations. Thanks goes to the tireless efforts of Ann Winchester and Jan Benaim of the Upper Swan District Ratepayers and Residents Association for their advocacy. Ms Winchester said it was a great result for the community. Since the application was submitted to the City of Swan in August 2017, our community has been lobbying to have the proposed amendment refused, she said. We felt a bitumen processing plant would have been out of place and would have been totally incompatible with the rural and residential amenity within Upper Swan. Over the past four years residents have voiced their disapproval of the activities already being carried out at the site. The odours produced adversely impact the health of residents and limit outdoor activities. #People4ResponsibleDevelopment #SavePerthHills https://usdrra.wordpress.com/
