Get ready to object
Fish Creek Quarries is preparing an application for a new quarry work area of about 50 ha next to the existing quarry. Resources Victoria has told us there is no legislated mechanism for the public to be notified or consulted when it receives a quarry application. Where the community gets a formal say is the planning permit application to South Gippsland Shire Council.
How it works
- Fish Creek Quarries lodges a planning permit application with Council.
- Council gives notice of it, usually by letters to neighbours, a sign on the site and sometimes a newspaper notice. That opens the objection period, usually at least 14 days.
- Anyone who may be affected can lodge a written objection, giving their reasons and saying how they would be affected (Planning and Environment Act 1987, section 57).
- Council decides. If it grants a permit, objectors are told and can ask VCAT to review the decision.
The objection is what counts. Lodging a formal objection is what gives you a say if the decision is reviewed at VCAT. Nothing you send before the application is lodged counts as an objection. The biggest risk is missing a short objection period you didn’t know had started.
What to do now
Join our list
This is the most important step. When an application is advertised we’ll tell you straight away, with the closing date and how to object. Sign up on our campaign page.
Tell Council you may be affected
This isn’t an objection, and Council doesn’t have to notify you. But it puts you on record, before an application arrives, as someone who may be affected. Council must notify adjoining owners and occupiers, and it can also notify anyone else it considers may suffer material detriment (section 52(1)(d)).
The button opens an email to Council with a starter letter. Fill in your name and address and add a line or two in your own words about how the quarry would affect you: your home, your water, the road, your business, the bush. A personal letter carries more weight than a form letter.
No email app? Send it to council@southgippsland.vic.gov.au, or post it to South Gippsland Shire Council, Private Bag 4, Leongatha VIC 3953. Keep a copy.
Set up a free PlanningAlerts email
PlanningAlerts emails you when a planning application is lodged near an address you choose. Use your own address, or Samman Road, Fish Creek. It’s free and run by a charity, not by us.
How to object when the time comes
- Watch for the notice (a letter, a sign on the site, a newspaper notice or Council’s website). Note the application number and the closing date.
- Write to Council, quoting the application number and the address of the land, and say that you object.
- Give your reasons and say how you would be affected. Be specific and personal: how far you are from the site, what you see and hear now, your water, the road, your business, the wildlife you see.
- Stick to facts and use your own words. Objections are weighed, not counted, and your own words carry more weight than a form letter.
- Lodge on time, early if you can. Keep a copy and ask Council to confirm it received it.
We’ll publish a fuller guide, with the issues and our sources, as soon as an application is advertised.
We don’t see or keep the emails you send to Council. They go straight from you. This page is general information, not legal advice.
We’re residents, landowners, businesses and visitors around Fish Creek, the Hoddle Range and the Prom Coast. We’re volunteers, and we’ll reply within two business days. About us
We acknowledge the Bunurong and Gunaikurnai peoples, the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where we live and work. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and recognise their continuing connection to Country.
