By Raquel Mustillo
PLANS to develop the Millicent Railway Lands has been mothballed as Wattle Range Council estimates potential investigation costs will hit $450,000 to address soil contamination issues at the site.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, elected members backed a staff recommendation to no longer pursue council’s action to procure, rehabilitate and develop the railway lands precinct, with officers warning almost $100,000 has been spent on reports of the site, saying the expenditure was a “only the start of the likely cost”.
According to engineering services director Peter Halton, an initial assessment detailed a number of potential soil contamination present at the State Government-owned sites and further identified the potential for groundwater contamination.