Chicken Farm

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We are following through with the environmental initiatives recommended by you
the council.
The large scale farming enterprise proposed by the applicant is in direct conflict with the
sustainable principles and practices of the area and council planning. And stands to do
significant damage to our local environment and also affect, with the potential to destroy,
the appeal and effectiveness of the more sensitive and sustainable low impact business
operations in the area.

The applicant’s proposal does not offer a win-win outcome for the residents of Ridgewood
and the broader community. It is clearly a win for one resident and a huge lose for
everyone else and the environment of the area. This kind of outcome is therefore
unsustainable and not in keeping with the South East Queensland Regional Plan
2009-2031.

We trusted that low impact zoning of properties in our area, by our council, would not be
altered just because of one person’s wants. We trusted council would honour its own
planning guidelines. Those development parameters are there for a reason: to
protect. They need to be respected and upheld, and only modified after extensive public
consultation and acceptance, otherwise they mean nothing. Most residents of Ridgewood
live in the area for the reasons that are now seriously under threat from this development.

Many of the submissions have highlighted important concerns we share regarding the
environmental and economic consequences of the applicant’s proposal. We wish to
highlight also the very real negative social and emotional consequences of such a
proposal.

Imagine choosing to live in a quiet area of Cooroy, on a small rural road, to then be
subjected to living with 4-5 semi-trailers rattling by your place a day or with the daily stench
that a Poultry Farm such as this creates? Imagine the emotional and physical impact of
living in a once beautiful, peaceful and unique area made unsustainable, stressful and
unhealthy, with odour, noise, environmental and visual pollution?

And yes we are emotional about this situation. You have our quality of life, our
nature which we care for so passionately, in your hands.

Currently, as residents of Ridgewood, we feel safe to ride our horses, bikes and walk our
dogs on our local rural roads and we have a bus stop that sees many children picked up
and dropped off every morning and afternoon.

This sense of safety, freedom and connection to our local countryside is an integral part
of our rural community lifestyle. It contributes to our wellbeing. It contributes to our sense
of social connection and interaction with our environment and neighbours. It is a ‘way of
being’ that ought to be repeated not deleted.

However, with the applicant’s proposal, our narrow little country roads would see semi
trailers hurtling along them, turning tight corners, along with a great increase in traffic to
and from the applicant’s property of additional poultry farm staff and associated services.

It puts us all at great risk and creates danger, fear, stress and a sense of loss and
restriction, where there has been safety, tranquility and joy.

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We are greatly concerned at the lack of public consultation with a proposal that
obviously has far reaching ramifications for not only Ridgewood residents but the
broader Cooroy Community.

We are very disappointed that there has been little consideration regarding how such a
proposal could impact on surrounding homes and residential businesses in the area. The
value of properties in Ridgewood is reflected significantly in the sustainable and attractive
natural qualities of the area. Losing these qualities will most definitely see the value of
surrounding properties affected.

Changing the status of a large property from low impact to high intensive farming, when it
is so close to many surrounding low impact properties that it will negatively effect, is to
render the status of all those surrounding properties meaningless. And it sets a
precedence for other areas to be re-assessed for intensive farming and ultimately
abandoned as Land for Wildlife.

Why would Council consider agreeing to such an outcome in an era of sustainability, repair
and protection? Why would you consider agreeing to a scenario that can tear down all the
hard work members of your community have worked so tirelessly to create with your
support?

The majority of Ridgewood residents are an example of ordinary people successfully
improving and caring for our environment. We ought to be applauded and supported for
that, not overlooked and disregarded.

Please treat residents doing good with due respect, and consider our needs too.

We do not consider the proposal of the applicant to be in keeping with the spirit and
practice of the majority of Ridgewood residents, or with council planning and so we urge
council to uphold the existing low impact status of the applicant’s property, in line with
surrounding properties in Ridgewood, rejecting the proposal in it’s entirety.




Regards,

Glenda & Scott Thomas
48 Jorgensen Rd, Ridgewood.

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Big Concerns:

1. Planning Inconsistencies
There is an inconsistency with existing plans, including South East Queensland Regional
Plan 2009-2031. High intensity farming of this nature is inconsistent with the existing and
envisaged development in the surrounds of the proposed site. Existing rural uses are
typically low intensity, largely sustainable practices such as grazing, "hobby farming" and
forestry. Existing uses are aligned with being part of the Noosa 'biosphere' and sustainable
outlook. High intensity poultry farming is certainly not.

2. Project scale
The scale of the project is huge. For a quiet rural area with just basic road infrastructure,
this development is clearly out of scale. Additionally, there will not be sufficient increases in
employment opportunities to warrant such a large development. With shed development
proposed for the ridges of the property the surrounding district will be able to see the
development (and scale thereof) from almost every vantage point in the immediate area.

3. Noise pollution
Noise pollution will be generated from shed ventilator fans and feed delivery fans, bird
noise, shed maintenance, site machinery and increased heavy vehicle traffic.

4. Odour pollution
Odour Pollution exacerbated by earth floors in the sheds (subject to ground water
seepage) over-layed by sawdust being subject to high summer temperatures. Further
exacerbated by poor ventilation to many of the sheds caused by inappropriate alignment
for the prevailing winds due to site restrictions and the desire to build along ridge lines.
Further, spreading the sawdust/manure for fertilisation of the existing orchard will cause
further odour impact on local residents. Odour doesn't stop at property boundaries.

5. Waste water issues
Proposed basins, swales and buffers are just passive design elements rather than proper
treatment of waste and subsequent sheetflow run-off will end up in the catchment
waterways. The MUSIC storm water treatment model used in the application was designed
for urban areas and is in no way applicable for this operation where contaminated
groundwater from unsealed shed floors will leach from under the sheds to surrounding
areas. At peak rainfall times of the year, contaminated run-off will overwhelm vegetated
farm areas and transfer to the property dams and into Blackfellow Creek, a tributary of the
Mary River. This may ultimately impact on threatened species such as the Lung Fish in the
Mary River, which was at least in part reason enough to stop the construction of the
Traveston Dam.

6.Traffic issues
Heavy vehicles, including the proposed use of B Doubles, will be used to deliver and
remove sawdust, feed, birds, and other inputs/outputs. The local roads (Belli Creek Road,
Ceylon Rd, Old Ceylon Road, Top Forestry Road, Lawnville Road - which has already
collapsed twice in recent years) suffer enough during summer rain periods and are in need
of regular repair. Increasing traffic will reduce safety due to poorer road surfaces and
increase cost to council and therefore Noosa ratepayers. The township of Cooroy, already
struggling to cope with heavy vehicle through-traffic will experience further congestion and
dangers.

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7. Animal Welfare Issues
We consider high intensity poultry farming of this nature to be cruel, unnecessary and
archaic. There is also Platypus living in the dam and creek of the adjoining property 869
Cooroy Belli Creek Road and in other areas of BlackFellows Creek. These are an
endangered wildlife species and will be at risk of experiencing pollution poisoning given
the run off from this proposed development.

8. Visual amenity issues
Severe visual disturbance from the siting of buildings on ridge-lines. Even with proposed
tree planting, this development is going to be an eyesore for years to come.

9. Light Pollution
The area's night time views are currently stunning with low light pollution and spectacular
star scape views on clear nights. Poultry operations are typically 24-hour operations and
light pollution from the sheds will disturb residents for many kilometres.

10. Impacts on existing Economic uses.
The area in which the proposed development is situated is well regarded as a tourist area.
Many visitors to the Sunshine Coast tour the hinterland areas, especially using the Noosa/
Cooroy/Kenilworth/Maleny route, and particularly on motorcycles. These tourists bring a lot
of business to the communities along the way and being faced with several kilometres of
odour from an intensive poultry farm will impact visitors significantly. Additionally, a lot of
properties in the area have been converted to sustainable 'eco' developments and healing
retreats, and the residents have sustainable and ecologically friendly attitudes.This is not
merely an issue for residents, but the attractiveness of these areas stimulates property
prices, development in fitting with the Noosa Biosphere and ultimately increase rates paid
due to improved values. The creation of this business will cause a significant loss of
revenue to the council via rates over time.

11. Health Issues
It has been seen in the past decade that increased virulence in pathogens, especially in
high-intensity poultry farming, causes health issues that can have impacts on a global
scale. (H5N1, Bird flu). This development does not address in any way the impact on the
local community of an outbreak of such diseases and no disaster management plan is in
place. The economy of the entire local government region (and beyond) could potentially
be at risk.

12. Soil Degradation and Erosion
The property currently has a large amount of terracing to support existing orchard usage.
Council should inspect this terracing in person to determine if it is suitable and adequate
for both the existing use and proposed use. The current terracing on such a steep slope
could potentially lead to large amounts of water, effluent and soil run-off into the
surrounding areas including Blackfellow Creek.

13. Uses outside the proposed development, Fertiliser Production
The existing application is for animal husbandry however the predicted amount of sawdust/
manure to be sold as fertiliser indicates that a large proportion of the commercial viability
of this enterprise relates to fertiliser production and sale. The application should be
amended and only considered in light of the fact that it will be a commercial fertiliser
operation. Commercial fertiliser production is not at all in character with any existing land
use in the area. We urge council to reject this application in it's entirety.

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