LOGAN water chair councillor Phil Pidgeon says he is not for forcing anyone off their land to build a sewerage treatment plant – and certainly not Margaret Hawkins, the 79-year-old granddaughter of Logan pioneers.
“Margaret’s family have been on that land for a long time. Margaret was born there, she wants to stay there. I get that,” Cr Pidgeon said.
Cr Pidgeon said though the public process was continuing, he was prepared to offer a personal opinion – there were better places for the plant than Colbrae.
“A lot of people are making assumptions that Stockleigh will become the dumping ground for everything in the city but they’d be wrong,” Cr Pidgeon said.
“A lot of good people live at Stockleigh and I’d caution those people against jumping to conclusions.”
Miss Hawkins thinks the council wants her land for a sewerage treatment plant. She has a state government report that says it is the preferred place for the Site B plant.
She, her family and friends have started a petition to save Colbrae, her historic Brahman stud at pastoral Stockleigh in the city’s south west.
Colbrae is 60.7 hectares of grazing land and part of the selection made by Miss Hawkins grandparents, William and Maryanne Hawkins in 1865 next to River Oaks. The first deeded property sold at Logan Village is still home to three generations descended from the pioneer family.
READ MORE: On our selection: Row brews over Stockleigh pioneer farm.
Cr Pidgeon, engineers and council spokespeople have said the report, commissioned for the Queensland government and available on the council website, has has no bearing on where Site B will be built.
The council must build two sewerage treatment plants in the rural south-west. One will be at Cedar Grove. The second has been the subject of the council’s recent search-for-a-site meetings.
Cr Pidgeon said the council had received 23 offers from property owners who hoped to sell properties to the council for Site B which would service Park Ridge to Yarrabillba.
Public submissions close on August 20.
Each would be judged on its merit and the council would report back to the public, Economic Development Queensland and the government before a site was chosen, he said.
