LEIGH CREEK TOWNSHIP TRANSFORMATION PROJECT
The South Australian government’s Leigh Creek Task Force is overseeing the Future Town Plan for Leigh Creek to become a sustainable and open town and a thriving regional tourist hub, and service centre for surrounding northern Flinders Ranges communities.
In the first phase, the Future Town Plan involves the demolition of unused and dilapidated houses. It is vital that the town is sized and structured to ensure it can sustain itself and thrive in the short, medium and long term and leaving these houses to deteriorate further will detract from Leigh Creek making it an uninviting and unwelcoming place to live and visit.
The demolition program is due to commence in early January 2022 with the upgrade of an existing road from the township to the highway to be a heavy vehicle haulage road (for waste transport). In late January 2022, the ground disturbing works for the demolition program will commence. The attached maps show the township demolition zones and the haulage road, areas where ground disturbing works will occur.
In 2022, the Future Town Plan will include planning for a new purpose-built health and ambulance facility for the region. The task force is also planning further demolition of surplus commercial and government infrastructure.
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport’s Project Manager, Mark Muller has held community meetings in Leigh Creek to explain the process relating to the township’s demolition, transport and the disposal of asbestos and other waste. These meetings have been attended by local residents of the Adnyamathanha community.
The demolition process includes the removal ad disposal of some asbestos materials. The asbestos and demolition waste from the Leigh Creek Township will be disposed of separately at two existing waste disposal cells at the Coalfield.
These waste disposal cells have a long history and have previously been used for the disposal of asbestos and demolition waste from the closure of the Northern Power Station, the Playford Power Station and the Leigh Creek mine itself.
The disposal of waste from the Township is consistent with and a continuation of the pre-existing uses of these waste disposal cells. Each of the cells will be progressively capped as waste is deposited before the cells are closed and rehabilitated. Maps showing the locations of the cells are below.
The disposal of asbestos is scheduled to commence from 20 December 2021 with the construction and demolition waste to follow in January 2022. The waste will be packaged and transported by trucks to the waste disposal cells at the Coalfield using existing roads and tracks.
The disposal of waste at the cells will be conducted in accordance with all environmental requirements. The previous use of the waste disposal cells was approved by the EPA under EPA Licence No. 13009. The EPA has determined that no environmental authorisation is necessary in relation to the further use of the cells in the circumstances.”
For more information contact the Project Manager, Leigh Creek Task Force, Department for Energy and Mining: eMail leighcreektransformation@sa.gov.au