A Gympie resident claims council ordered BlackRoc Group to stop work on a proposed asphalt plant at East Deep Creek in August, which was allegedly occurring before project approval.
Concerned Monkland resident, Derrick Pagett, who lives near the site, said the council order came after he reported BlackRoc was excavating the site on Metal Court Road with heavy machinery and storing building materials.
Gympie Regional Council is currently assessing BlackRoc’s application for a Material Change of Use (MCU) of two adjoining blocks of land, a former scrap metal yard and residential block from Medium Impact Industry to High Impact Industry.
If the MCU is granted, the company’s development application can proceed. A publicly available Information Request letter from council to BlackRoc in July says: ‘The proposal is… inconsistent with the zone which anticipates medium impact industry rather than high impact industry’.
In the letter, council asked BlackRoc to supply further information to support its Development Permit Application and address 16 issues including noise, 24 hour operating hours, air quality, road safety and stormwater management.
Water quality issues
The project site is in the Deep Creek sub-catchment. While the company plans to build a 692 square metre ‘bio-retention basin’, the council letter expresses concern about potentially polluted stormwater flowing from the flood-prone site.
MRCCC Operations Manager Brad Wedlock PHOTO: Vivienne Wynter
Mary River Catchment Coordinating Council (MRCCC) Operations Manager Brad Wedlock said the aim of the bio-retention basin would be to capture the asphalt plant’s runoff and contain water onsite, preventing a spillover into Deep Creek.
‘But detention basins can only capture so much water and if we have a decent subtropical storm (or multiple days of storms) detention basins often get challenged and spillovers downstream occur,’ Mr Wedlock said.
‘If the runoff water from the plant is not contained by the detention basin and the basin overflows, it would definitely flow down Deep Creek and into the Mary River.’
Concerned resident, Derrick Pagett, who has experience in heavy industry, mining and civil construction, is concerned an asphalt manufacturing plant on a five acre site, could cause noise, air and water pollution and decrease property values.
Concerned Gympie Resident Derrick Pagett
‘BlackRoc is putting the cart before the horse by proceeding with this project before it’s approved,’ Mr Pagett said. He’s raising a petition against the asphalt plant which he says is wrong for the location, near residential areas.
‘This is a necessary but dirty industry and similar asphalt plants have been shut down in the US because of impacts on human health,’ he said.
‘Gympie needs industries like these and I’m not saying the project shouldn’t go ahead; just put it in a better location for heavy industry.’
He said if approved, the plant’s 40 metre high smoke stack would be an eyesore and potentially pollute air throughout the city ‘depending which way the wind blows’.
The BlackRoc website says sustainability is built into its asphalt production and the company builds ‘modern, environmentally conscious asphalt batching plants’.
The company’s development application says it would use a cloth filtering system to capture air pollution and operations would be restricted to reduce noise during the night.
Company appoints project manager
BlackRoc Group has already announced the signing of multi-national project operator, Ammann to run the Gympie plant.
A news brief on the BlackRoc website about the proposed Gympie project also says the company ‘is pleased to announce the arrival of its road construction machinery and experienced delivery team in the greater Gympie area’.
BlackRoc has erected a billboard promoting its proposed asphalt plant in Gympie
BlackRoc Group Director, David Hill, did not answer The Pineapple’s questions about starting works before council approval, or environmental impacts, saying: ‘It would be premature to comment on matters that remain under assessment’.
Mr Hill was however, quoted extensively in a June Gympie Times news article on the proposed asphalt plant, shortly after the assessment process began.
Council ‘investigating’
Gympie Council spokeswoman, Alex Stengl, said council was currently investigating the matter (claims that work proceeded without approval) and was working with the landholder regarding the necessary approvals.
‘Separate to this investigation, council is assessing a development application for a proposed asphalt manufacturing plant on the site. Council requested further information from the applicant on 2 July 2026 and is currently awaiting a response.
‘Once the requested information is received, council will continue its assessment of the application in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements.’
BlackRoc has until 2 October to respond to council’s Request for Information or council will assess the application without the info requested.
The application and supporting documents are available through Council’s Application Tracker.
‘Public feedback is an important part of the development assessment process,’ Ms Stengl said.
IMAGE at top of story is an artist’s impression of a BlackRoc asphalt manufacturing plant.
