Community and land use

Bunyip North Quarry

Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd (Hanson) is proposing to develop a granite quarry in Bunyip North (previously known as Garfield North). The proposed site is on Sanders Road, Bunyip North and is approximately 70km south-east of Melbourne and 3km north of the Princes Freeway.

Hanson proposes to extract an estimated 70 to 100 million tonnes of granite from the site over a period of about 80 to 120 years.

Read more about the Bunyip North Quarry on Hanson's website.

What is status of the project?

The project is in the preliminary stages. No approval has been granted and quarrying operations have not commenced.

In November 2015 the Minister for Planning determined that the proposed quarry requires an Environment Effects Statement (EES) assessment under the Environment Effects Act 1978 (EEA) as the proposal has potential for significant environmental effects.

Read more about the EES Referral, Reasons and Decision.

Hanson has advised Earth Resources Regulation that it has appointed an environmental consultancy to oversee the development of the EES and is currently developing a consultation plan that will be required as part of the process.

What is an Environment Effects Statement?

An EES is a document prepared by the proponent of the project. The EES describes the potential environmental effects of a proposed project, assesses relevant alternatives and outlines how the proponent proposes to manage environmental effects. The EES process is administered by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

Hanson expects that the EES will take approximately two years to complete.

Read more about the EES process in Victoria.

Note: The EES assessment is not an approval process. The process enables statutory decision-makers to determine whether a project with potentially significant environmental effects should proceed.

Will the government support the community during the assessment process?

Yes. The Victorian Government will support the Bunyip North community through the Community Education and Community Advisor Grant programs.

  • Community Education Grant: the government has appointed Environmental Justice Australia to deliver community education workshops and online resources to the Bunyip North community under the Community Education Grant program.
  • Community Advisor Grant: the government will provide grants to eligible not-for-profit community organisations that seek to represent the local community during public hearings in relation to the Bunyip North proposal.

Read more information on the Community Education and Community Advisor Grant programs.

What is Earth Resources Regulation's role?

At this stage of the project as the earth resources regulator in Victoria, Earth Resources Regulation will be a key contributor to the EES assessment process. We cannot approve or refuse the proposed project until the EES is completed.

Page last updated: 02 Jun 2021