Community & Business
15 October, 2026
Residents near mill lodge complaint over council decision
Complaint lodged over noise decision
Warwick residents have lodged a formal Administrative Action Complaint with Southern Downs Regional Council, raising concerns about officers’ assessment of the Corson Mill development application and changes to noise conditions.
In a letter to SDRC CEO Rachel Brophy, residents said their concerns went beyond disagreement with the ultimate outcome and instead honed in on the process of assessment and communication with residents.
One major concern is council’s decision to assess the application as code assessable, which meant residents were not given an opportunity to formally make submissions during the assessment process. The residents previously raised noise concerns with council and questioned whether the applicant’s acoustic modelling and proposed mitigation measures were independently investigated.
As part of the Town & Country Journal’s investigation into the matter, two items stand out. Included in the application is a Queensland State Development, Infrastructure and Planning letter, dated 28 April this year, which names the applicant as “Christian Community Ministries Ltd”. A spokesperson for the Queensland government indicated it was a mistake.
More importantly, there are discrepancies between two acoustic reports on the SDRC website. One version, undertaken by the mill, provides a table of 76 residential properties, one medical facility and 13 commercial property that are “receptors” of mill noise. A newer version of that report, included in the SDRC’s decision notice, removes that table. There are other discrepancies which will be further investigated.
The complaint submitted to the SDRC also questions the proposed consolidation of the site’s existing approvals into a single approval covering all activities, buildings and structures. Residents argue council should explain what existing approvals and conditions were thereby superseded and whether the combined impacts of the site’s activities were fully assessed.
The complaint also raises the issue of the state Environmental Enforcement Order made to Corson in 2025. According to the complaint, the mill’s development application states it was made in response to the enforcement order and intended to address it. They are asking council to identify where the order and underlying investigation were considered in the assessment.
The residents also challenge council’s statement that the applicant had demonstrated a “willingness to mitigate noise impacts”. They question whether the applicant’s compliance history and outstanding requirements were adequately considered before proposed increases to permitted noise levels were accepted.
Particular concern is directed at the revised night-time noise limit. The complaint says the previous night-time criterion was 36 dB(A), while the final permitted level was increased to 44 dB(A). The residents question the technical and regulatory basis for the increase.
They also question why truck movements were cited as a factor in determining noise criteria when trucks are permitted to operate on the site only between 7am and 6pm.
The complaint further argues that ongoing noise monitoring should be required rather than relying primarily on residents making complaints. It contrasts the approval’s requirements with a more comprehensive noise monitoring program previously required by the state regulator.
Residents have asked the SDRC to clarify whether noise limits could be increased again if the operator cannot meet the newly approved criteria.
The next step in the complaints process, if residents are unsatisfied with the SDRC’s response to the administrative action, are to refer the matter to the Queensland Ombudsman for independent consideration.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bliejie has been in contact with residents offering advice.
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