General News
28 October, 2025
Company cements expansion
A CONCRETE batching company, described as a high-impact industry, has had its operations expanded to allow up to 50 truck movements per day instead of 16, and an official start time of 4am instead of 6am, despite major concerns by neighbouring residents.
In a material change of use application to Mareeba Shire Council, Conmat Pty Ltd requested the expansion to meet the increasing demand for concrete delivery now that it was the sole supplier in the shire following the closure of all other concrete batching plants in recent years.
The company operates from an established quarry of about 30 hectares located along Tinaroo Creek Road, and had already been operating outside its current limits. It was seeking to bring the approval “in line with the batching plants’ existing scale and operational requirements”, a report to council said.
The report said the argument for 4am starts was “reinforced by various submitters from the construction industry” who said it would ensure “concrete arrived on job sites as early as practically possible both locally and to the furthest reaches of the shire”.
However, local residents sent in 13 submissions against the changes, citing a disruption to living standards and amenity with the increased traffic.
Among the concerns were the increased noise, vibrations, light spill and dust along the road, as well as road safety and the integrity of Tinaroo Creek Road.
One writer suggested the dust generated by the operation contained crystalline silica, a known health hazard that can cause serious long-term respiratory illnesses, such as silicosis.
Another wrote: “There have been repeated incidents of material spillage along access routes, leading to dangerous road conditions and damage to residents’ vehicles, including broken windscreens from loose material.”
The council report acknowledged the “number of instances where concrete has fallen from the concrete agitator trucks, however, these are considered accidents, and every precaution is taken to avoid this occurring”.
Another submission claimed that “a significant volume of product is currently being imported to the site from a sand pit located on Chewko Road, Mareeba, and questioned whether these trucks were included in the traffic assessment.
Council accepted they had not been included but were “not likely to be substantial or unacceptable”.
The council report instead argued that concerns stemmed from “an unreasonable expectation of amenity within the Rural Zone, particularly considering the long-established industries in the area include farming, meat poultry sheds, a perlite processing factory and the Conmat quarry itself”.
It pointed out that the batching plant was 1.5km from the nearest neighbouring dwelling and achieved adequate separation distances to allay concerns of dust and noise being emitted.
Council had only received one general complaint since the batching plant had begun operating from 4am almost a year ago.
In support for the changes, seven submissions from the construction industry pointed to the vital service the batching plant was providing for an industry that needed quick and early start times.
“To have the concrete delivered to our job site as early as possible in the morning allows the bulk of the heavy manual labour of placing and screeding the concrete into the form-set, to occur during the cooler hours of the morning, rather than the heat of the day,” one submission stated.
In a lively debate at the meeting, councillors argued for and against the start times, with Cr Nipper Brown suggesting an amendment to the motion for a 5am start, which was “early enough” and would appease residents.
Deputy Mayor Lenore Wyatt put forward an alternative motion to fast-track road improvement to be made by the company from 24 months down to 12 months. This would address traffic quality and safety for the Tinaroo Creek residents.
The motion was carried, but without any reference to the 4am start.
The company will now be able to move trucks in and out of the quarry for up to 50 times a day (25 in and 25 out) when averaged out over any given week, giving it flexibility “to accommodate the varying degree of daily demand typically experienced in the construction industry”.
Its operating hours are from 4am-6pm Monday to Friday, and 4am-1pm on Saturdays. No operations are permitted on Sunday or public holidays.
Conditions also restricted cement powder delivery truck movements to two per day (one in, one out) which must be done outside peak traffic hours of 7am-8am and 3pm-4pm.
