Dubbo council considers planning agreement with Holicum for Sheraton Road

The council is currently considering a planning agreement with Holicum hard rock quarry on Sheraton Road.

A planning agreement is a deal between the council and a developer that often requires the developer to fund infrastructure or amenities.

If it goes ahead, the company will be required to pay a lump sum of $600,000 to the council within one year of the development consent being operational and then 10 cents per tonne of product.

The money will be used to maintain Sheraton Road.

In March, the NSW Department of Planning and Environment approved an application for the expansion of the quarry. It allowed Holicum to increase the quarry's extraction rate to 500,000 tonnes per annum, as well as extending its life for 25 years.

As part of the expansion, the quarry will have two new extraction areas.

In a report on the proposed agreement, the council's development and environment director Stephen Wallace said the south east of Dubbo was undergoing significant development. In addition to the Holicum quarry, there's also the Maas quarry and Maas concrete products development.

Mr Wallace said the development proposals could lead to as many as 42 extra trucks per day on Sheraton Road.

The council has six active planning agreements. They are for Bodangora Wind Farm, Rawsonville Road Quarry, Dubbo Zirconia Project, Sheraton Road Quarry, RAAF Base and Uungula Wind Farm.

Since establishing the Bodangora Wind Farm planning agreement, the council has received more than $182,000 for roadworks.

The company also pays $50,000 annually for the community benefit fund, which is distributed to local organisations.

The proposed planning agreement with Holicum is set to go on public exhibition before it goes back to the council for a final decision to be made.

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