'Rentseeking': Developers plan Yass campsite next to dirt dump

Redbrow Garden Guesthouse owner Maxx Wei says there are two projects planned for the block of land behind his property, an "eco-tourism" campsite and a quarry rehabilitation.

The Canberra Times reported on the quarry rehabilitation on Monday. It would see Canberra developers dump over 115,000 tonnes of dirt from ACT construction sites into an abandoned quarry, helping them avoid over $1.3 million worth of waste disposal fees in the capital.

Mr Wei said Yass council should reject the rehabilitation project.

An eco-tourism campsite has also been proposed to the Yass council on the same land by owner BGH SuperFund.

Documents filed with the council show the campsite was to help make guests feel they "were a million miles away from anywhere".

The land is off Nanima Road, halfway between Hall and Murrumbateman, where Mr Wei runs his guesthouse by a small river.

But Mr Wei has questioned the eco-tourism aspect of the camp, pointing to the limited facilities and how it would be overlooking the quarry rehabilitation.

"It's literally right next to the quarry that's going to be filled. So I don't know what kind of eco-tourism is watching dump trucks all day," Mr Wei said.

The campsite guests would be expected to take their own waste with them, with only one toilet facility.

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There were four campsites on the site, with the fourth to have a toilet block. Guests at the other camps would have to be "self sufficient" with their waste, documents said.

Mr Wei said the documents were ambiguous about how many people the entire site would host, with potentially 20 at each site.

"80 people will be sleeping on a mountain, do you think they're going to put their rubbish in a bucket and take it with them?" Mr Wei said.

Even if less than 80 people were allowed on the site, Mr Wei had concerns about how the owner would police them or if they even would.

"If any of my guests throw any rubbish in my river I have to go get it myself," Mr Wei said. "I wouldn't feel secure anymore."

"It's low-cost accommodation for the purpose of rent seeking."

The documents planned for "outdoor activity" on the site but didn't specify what.

"Is that bush doofs? Is it going to be a B&S ball?" Mr Wei said.

The quarry rehabilitation is set to generate the equivalent of 64 trucks a day for five years on Nanima Road.

It is also the latest in a long line of similar projects which have seen developers host rehabilitation projects on Yass land where Canberra developers dump clean fill.

Mr Wei said it would be dangerous for people sharing the small rural road with that many trucks and the dust created by the dirt would make his rainwater unusable.

Locals gathered at Mr Wei's guesthouse on Wednesday to voice their concerns, including Katherine Dixon who just got her provisional license and was worried about sharing the narrow road with trucks.

"It's dangerous for young drivers," Ms Dixon said.

Robin Rowe, runs a chocolate shop next door to Mr Wei.

She said her shop was used as a drawcard for tourists in the region but she was concerned for their safety because of the trucks.

Isabel Jirasek said locals in the area loved the environment and the quarry rehabilitation threatened its natural values.

Public submissions for the campsite had closed but submissions for the quarry project are open until 5pm on Friday, July 12.

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