Marketing of the Redgum Village here in Dandaragan is coming along nicely. Long over due but as they say better late than never.
Redgum has had a steady flow of guests thru June which has been great. Following a big shut down from the tronox cataby mine, Dandaragan and redgum village certainly get a great boost.

Unfortunately this time round the date clashed with another booking and as they couldnt change their date they had to cancel the project for now.
Just goes to show just how important it is that we keep up our number of rooms so large groups of people either for work or pleasure get to come to Dandaragan and do what they need to do.

Even though some rooms may remain empty in between these occasions, it is worth while to do so.

Here is our pic for the day

The Drone saga continues, mind you makes for good photography.

Enjoy.

JOANNA PLAINS PEAKER PROJECT

CARPENTER BEEF PTY LTD – APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF PLANNING APPROVAL – JOANNA PLAINS PEAKER PROJECT

 

Location:           Lot 3907, Brand Highway, Cataby

Applicant:         Carpenter Beef Pty Ltd

Folder Path:      Development Services Apps / Development Application / 2009 / 48

Disclosure of Interest:  None

Date:           10 September 2013

Author:              Manager of Planning

Signature of Author:

Senior Officer:        Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Signature of Senior Officer:

 

 

PROPOSAL

The proponent is seeking renewal of planning approval for the establishment of the Joanna Plains Peaker Project on Lot 3907 Brand Highway, Cataby.

 

BACKGROUND

This application was originally submitted to Council in September 2009 on behalf of Griffin Energy Development Pty Ltd. There were a number of issues relating to the application which precluded Council from giving formal consideration to the application. These issues related to mineral resources under the area of the application. These issues were resolved over a period of time and at its meeting on the 24 November 2011, Council granted conditional planning approval to the Joanna Plains Peaker Project for a period of two (2) years. The conditions of approval are as follows:

1. The proponents shall provide a Traffic Management Plan to Main Roads Western Australia and the Shire of Dandaragan prior to the commencement of construction. The Traffic Management Plan shall address;

·        Transportation of materials to the project site;

·        Obtaining the necessary written approvals / permits from Main Roads Western Australia Heavy Vehicle Operation Branch; and

·        The transport of all divisible and indivisible loads and acquisition of necessary permits for transport of these loads.

2. The proponents shall provide road signage to the specification and satisfaction of Main Roads Western Australia;

3. Following the submission of the application for planning approval, if the proponent proposed changes resulting in significant additional environmental impact in the opinion of the Shire of Dandaragan, these changes shall not be undertaken without prior consultation with the Shire of Dandaragan and the Environmental Protection Authority Service Unit;

4. The proponents are required to obtain a clearing permit in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Protection (clearing of native vegetation) Regulations 2004 in the case of any proposal to clear existing remnant vegetation on the site to the satisfaction of the Department of Environment and Conservation;

5. The Joanna Plains Peaker Project shall comply with the Environmental Protection Authorities Guidance Statement No.3 for ¡§Electric Power Generation¡¨;

6. Prior to the commencement of construction, the proponents shall commission third party noise modelling studies to demonstrate the final design complies with the relevant noise limits outlined in this approval;

7. The proponent shall ensure that no nesting birds of the endangered species Carnaby¡¦s Black Cockatoo are disturbed by any resulting works such as realignment of fence lines through or near mature trees;

8. Decommissioning of the plant and equipment on the subject land will commence within a period of 12 months from termination of operations and to be completed within a time period to the satisfaction of the Shire of Dandaragan. This will occur following submission by the proponent of a plan outlining the process of decommissioning;

9. Planning consent is granted for a maximum period of two years from the date of this approval during which time the development must be substantially commenced;

10. The proponent is advised that planning approval is not a building licence. A building licence must be formally applied for and obtained from Building Services before commencement of any site and / or development works; and

11. That following completion of the construction of the project, the Chief Executive Officer be authorised to request the proponent to undertake screen planting sufficient to screen the development from the Brand Highway.

The proposal is to construct and operate a 106MW ¡§peaking¡¨ dual fuel (diesel and gas) open cycle gas turbine power station that will efficiently supplement electricity generation during times of high electricity demand in the Mid-West Region. The project will be capable of being a standalone unit or being aligned with other wind farm projects.

The project will be located on Lot 3907 being a site characterised by gently undulating, cleared pasture lands. No native vegetation or significant habitats will be disturbed as a result of the development and construction will be carried out under best management practices.

 

 

COMMENT

The request for a 2 year extension to the planning approval is permitted under the Local Planning Scheme;

Clause 10.5.2.of the Scheme states;

A written request may be made to the local government for an extension of the term of planning approval at any time prior to the expiry of the approval period in clause 10.5.1 (2 years).

However, in granting the extension it should be made clear to the proponent that the Council¡¦s decision does not provide an avenue to change any of the current conditions of approval nor afford a right of appeal to the State Administrative Tribunal. The decision merely relates to the period of time upon which construction work must have substantially commenced, generally interpreted as “slab on the ground”, or in this instance could mean footings completed.

Lot 3907 is located on a property in the Cataby area approximately 160km north of Perth and approximately 21km west of the Dandaragan town site. The subject land is commonly known as Joanna Plains. The Joanna Plains farm is a 6950 hectare property comprising of four separate Certificates of Title. The particular Certificate of Title affected by this application is commonly referred to as “Marianas”.

The proposed development site comprises of an area of 1751 hectares, immediately west of the Brand Highway and is currently used for the grazing of cattle. This site was selected as the most suitable location because of the location of required infrastructure. 
The Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline is located 11km from the proposed site, whilst the Parmelia gas pipeline is located less than 500m from the proposed site. A 132kV power line held by Western Power traverses the site from south-east to north-west. A 330kV easement also traverses the site and Western Power is in the process of upgrading the 132kV to 330kV as part of their Pinjar to Eneabba transmission line project.

The site is currently used for grazing and was cleared some 20 to 30 years ago. The Joanna Plains farm is located on land zoned “Rural” under the Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Scheme No.7. Land to the east of the site is also zoned Rural however, land to the north and south is reserved for “Public Purposes” and the land to the immediate west is reserved for ¡§Conservation¡¨.

Also located on the Joanna Plains farm is a cattle feedlot operation which has been operational for approximately five years and is situated 4400 metres from the site of the proposed Peaker Project. The Joanna Plains Peaker Project is considered to be separate to the feedlot as it occupies a different lot number which does not form part of this application. The subject site is currently improved by one dwelling, situated 4500 metres to the south of the proposed development site. This is currently needed for farm employees and presently houses the farm manager. The nearest private residence is the Billinue Aboriginal Community which is 3390 metres to the north of the proposed site.

 

 

 

The applicant advises that the following components are proposed to be used in this project:

·        2 x 60MW generators ie operating capacity of 106MW;

·        Control room;

·        Fuel oil skid;

·        Gas skid;

·        18 metre exhaust stack;

·        Maintenance / storage building;

·        Water treatment building; and

·        Fuel tanks.

It is proposed that the plant is designed and intended to be run on a remote basis. The units are capable of operating on dual fuel basis meaning the turbines can function on various fuels including bio diesel, diesel or natural gas. The units are designed as a small modular configuration that is primarily constructed offsite and prefabricated modules are transported to site and basically bolted onto the concrete slab. Each turbine can operate either independently or in sync with the other. This allows the two turbines to be progressively brought online within a short period to meet electricity demand. This means the Joanna Plains Project has the capacity to efficiently operate to a minimum output of 15MW through to a maximum output of 106MW.

The proposed substation will occupy 10% of the total area being approximately 4000 square metres and house the outdoor switch gear and a control room fitted out with switch gear, protection, metering and communication equipment.

Access to the proposed site will be located along the northern boundary of the Mariana¡¦s paddock and is directly available from the Brand Highway via a new road of approximately 1500 metres. If necessitated, the land owner is agreeable to including the proposed access drive within a dedicated easement. The access road design and the construction will need to suit the sandy soils with possible suitable construction material located about 10 kilometres away. The proposed vehicle manoeuvring area will be constructed to a suitable standard to accommodate heavy ridgid vehicles and will enable all vehicles to enter and exit the site in forward gear after performing no more than a 3 point turn. This access is the subject of a submission from Main Roads Western Australia.

General temporary facilities required for construction will include:

·        Site sheds and offices;

·        Ablution facilities;

·        Crib room;

·        Covered external area;

·        Lay down areas; and

·        Small car park.

Application for these temporary facilities will be the subject of aseparate application for planning approval as well as for the issuing of a temporary building licence. These facilities will be removed following construction and all areas disturbed will be rehabilitated. It is anticipated that the initial construction phase would be completed within six months of onsite works commencing.

 

CONSULTATION

The application for planning approval was previously extensively advertised in 2011. All those that made submissions in 2011 were advised by letter of the proposed extension of planning approval and requested to advise if there were any changes to their comments/advice. No formal responses of any changes have been received at the time of the preparation of this report.

 

STATUTORY ENVIRONMENT

·        Local Planning Scheme No 7

·        Local Planning Strategy  Rural Land Use and Rural Settlement

 

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

There are no policy implications relevant to this item.

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The applicant has paid a sum of $3,751.10 for extension of the planning approval.

 

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS

·        Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Strategy ¡V Rural Land Use and Rural Settlement

 

ATTACHMENTS

Circulated with the agenda are the following items relevant to this report:

·        Site plan (Doc Id: 16078)

·        Separation plan (Doc Id: 16080)

·        Infrastructure plan (Doc Id: 16083) (Marked 9.4.4)

 

VOTING REQUIREMENT

Simple majority

 

 

 

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

1. Pursuant to Clause 10.5.2 of the Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Scheme No.7 grant a two year extension to the planning approval granted 24 November 2011 for the Joanna Plains Peaker Project on Lot 3907 Brand Highway, Cataby resulting in the revised expiry date of 24 November 2015; and

2. That the applicant be advised the extension of time to the current planning approval does not alter the conditions of approval nor afford a right of appeal to the State Administrative Tribunal. The decision relates to the period of time upon which construction work must have substantially commenced as determined by the Council

The Dandaragan silo’s are shown here in a unique form that demonstrate how a piece of farming equipment can be transformed into art.
These silo’s situated near Regan’s Ford 30km south of Dandaragan are a major asset to many a Dandaragan farmer. In fact they were built specifically for some local farmers needs and have been used to capacity in the last few years.

This is certainly a picture of the Dandaragan rd silos of a different nature. 
We will endeavour to find more interesting photos of places and things in and around the Redgum Village and Dandaragan.

Wow what a start to the seeding programme here in Dandaragan, rain rain rain, even here at the redgum village we got wet!

It is very warming to see some greenery around Dandaragan as this is written, compared to a few weeks ago as this pic shows just how dry Dandaragan looked from above.

With the bucket loads of rain and sorry but I do not have the exact amount but definitly over a inch in the last two weeks has made Dandaragan look beautiful..I better get John back to take some more pics.

All the best to the farmers and associated industry that so needed this rain and looking forward to a great season.

Redgum Village has the luxury of being in Dandaragan on moonless nights that allow the billions of stars to shine bright.
Along with that it also allows some great effects with the Village lights and capturing the right time.

This is a example of what star gazers, photographers and anybody that wants to can do when here in Dandaragan.

Business is steady at Redgum Village in Dandaragan, fortunately the pace has stepped up a couple notches since the change of government and contracts are beginning to be back in progress.

Redgum relies a lot on government contracts and whilst not entirely that is where most of our business comes from. Now that things in general are settling down the roadworks and other projects in and around Dandaragan are beginning to move forward again.
Certainly good to have a quiet period and catch up on some improvements and general maintenance.

The fluctuating power recently played a part in our 3 phase appliances but as we are prepared for these nowadays we can manage that without major disruptions and costs.

Gaylene is in the driving department of Redgum Village, the kitchen and has been very adventurous with the latest round of home cooked meals which appear to be very well accepted judging by the comments and empty waste bin in the dinning room. She certainly is the heart and sole of Redgum.

Looking forward to a very busy weekend of the 29th and to all those incoming guests we hope you enjoy your stay, although the event you are all attending in the weekend should be a highlight for everyone involved.
We are only here to give you a comfy bed and a big breakfast before you all head home again, and a few with a bit of a hangover maybe.

School holidays coming up and looking forward to the two kiddies, well our two youngest children being at Redgum for a couple weeks.
They dont know it yet but we have a large booking for a few days within that period so I feel a young teenage boy may get some hands on work experience for a few days…looking forward to seeing that.

We all had a great day out recently at the Melbourne F1. A great getaway from Dandaragan and a great event to attend, even though the new F1 rules will take a bit to get used to, still a great day out.

Photo courtesy of hosts.

Here at Redgum this week is a quiet one for us and a chance to catch up on a few chores and a bit of maintenance.
It has been a fairly steady few weeks here at Redgum Accommodation in the heart of Dandaragan with a shire crew working on the road between Moora and Dandaragan plus a few contract teams working in the Dandaragan Shire related to agriculture.
Its quite surprising just how diverse dandaragan is within the agriculture sector. The grain trials, sheep husbandry contractors to name a couple from the last couple weeks.

Great to see a little bit of activity happening at the Dandaragan Olive farm, hopefully this will be the beginning of a new era for Dandaragan and Olive production.

We have had the services of a ex Dandaragan Shire worker attend to our lawn and gardens retic and we are now getting a full dose of ground water onto the lawns and its so great to see such lush green grass in such a dry area. Looks really good, thanks mate.

Big wedding coming up in Dandaragan near the end of March, looks like we are almost booked out for that weekend which is great and also good to see Redgum accommodation being used for a local Dandaragan event. Not the wedding just accommodating some of the guests. Hope the weather holds out for them or we might have to quickly have the Redgum Function Centrer on stand-by. I think they will be fine and am sure it will be a awesome weekend. Will cover it here after the event.

Thats all for now, we will cover whats going on in Dandaragan over the coming weeks and find other areas of interest that can benefit guests staying here or looking at staying here in dandaragan at the Redgum public accommodation village.

A interesting wet sunrise here at Redgum in Dandaragan.

Welcome to the new Redgum Blog.

Here we will add whats happening at Redgum any news of interest and whatever else we can find that is relevant to The Redgum Village here in Dandaragan.

First up we have just had 50 guests (sub contractors) from the local Tronox mineral sands mine at cataby stay here at Redgum. Judging by the majority reaction all went well and as planned.
We are in the process of fine tuning the Village to be more compatable to the 50 guest size as this seems to be a comfortable amount of workers for the majority of companies.

We do however have space behind the main kitchen with power, water and waste connections for the longer term company they wants extra rooms.
These extra rooms can be brought on site and quickly set up. Either by the company staying here or we can do this under a contract

The Redgum kitchen and dining facility easily copes with the 50 guests and can comfortably handle 70 to 80 persons without any major additions.

Early Cooked Breakfasts at Redgum are a real treat and allow you to be well fed early and get to the job on time.
The chirpy cooks even get to watch info-comercial TV from 4am so feel free to quiz them on whats the go in today’s info world each morning.