Expansion of the Red Hill quarry has courted controversy from Hills and Swan Valley residents as well as Alison Xamon, the Greens MLC for the East Metropolitan electorate.
The quarry was last approved for expansions in 2006 and in 2010. Since then, Hanson has applied to extend its pit to the west and northwest.
In January last year, the proposed new expansion was refused by the Environmental Protection Authority after it found the Hanson proposal could not meet Aboriginal heritage, landscape, visual amenity and flora and fauna objectives.
A number of appeals have followed and last month Marmion published Statement 912, approving the expansion.
Xamon said she had been following the case closely for some time and did not find out about the approval until a resident stumbled across it and notified her of the decision.
?What would have been expected is, given the level of community concern and if Mr Marmion truly believed everything is fine, he should have been more open about the final approval,? she said.
?The approved expansion will be west and northwest from the current pit into untouched natural bush on the Perth Scarp that borders an A-Class nature reserve.
?I?m deeply disappointed by this outcome.?
A spokeswoman for Marmion said due process had been followed and restrictions had been placed on the project to reduce the quarry?s footprint.
She said the process included opportunities for public input during the EPA assessment and through the appeals provisions of the Environmental Protection Act.
The conditions put on the quarry were a result of the appeals process after the EPA?s original refusal.
Hanson Australia did not return Quarry?s calls for further comment by deadline.
Source: Hills Gazette
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