By Jeremy Sollars
GRAINX at Allora has twice refused to comment on concerns raised by residents in the vicinity over noise, dust and chemical contamination.
As reported in the Free Times last week, Allora residents on Herbert Street, across the road from the GrainX Australia grain handling facility, have spoken of their lives as virtual “prisoners” in their own homes for the past five years.
Dust – including toxic chemical residue – and noise from the site have turned their daily lives into a living hell since the facility was approved by the Southern Downs Regional Council in 2011.
Health impacts from chemical use, sleep deprivation, stress and de-valued properties sum up life on Herbert Street and other nearby streets in “The Best Little Town on the Downs”.
There also concerns over the wellbeing of students at Allora State School and residents of The Homestead Southern Cross Care nursing home just a few hundred metres from GrainX on nearby Forde Street.
The Free Times approached GrainX for comment ahead of last week’s story but no response was received.
The newspaper again contacted GrainX this week seeking comment and also information in relation to other sites the company owns in the Allora region outside of the town area to which the grain facility could be moved, but the company declined to comment for a second time.
Herbert Street residents claim the company has been both tardy and has failed to comply with council directives set down in March this year relating to dust and noise assessments and landscaping requirements, including a five-metre wide foliage strip with mature plantings.
A Southern Downs Regional Council spokeswoman said the council was expecting to receive a report from GrainX’s consultants by 31 January 2017.
The council’s director of Planning, Environment and Corporate Services Ken Harris said last week council was aware that some landscaping had been undertaken, but to date was not satisfactory.
“Further landscaping has been requested to meet the requirement, and officers are working with GrainX to ensure appropriate trees and shrubs are planted.”
