Epsom Environmental Services has applied to the City of Greater Bendigo to rezone farm land in Hayhurst Road, Bagshot North to build a facility to process biosolids, pig carcasses, chicken waste, green waste, timber off-cuts and sawdust into compost. The development requires the CoGB to approve a planning scheme amendment, which people can formally comment on until Saturday.

The proposed development triggered a public meeting at the Bagshot Hall late last month, which resulted in the formation of the Bagshot and District Environmental Action Group.

Group chairman Des Knight said a petition against the development had more than 200 signatures.

He said the group feared the odour that might come from the facility and the impact the development would have on farms and property values in the area.

“We had 28 people at the meeting and everyone was strictly opposed to it,” Mr Knight said.

“The proposal is disgusting really.

“What they’re doing is right on the edge of the district park and it’s right against farming ground.”

The Bendigo Advertiser contacted Epsom Environmental Services and was told to contact private town planners Conceptz.

Conceptz was unavailable to comment yesterday.

A March 2012 planning report, which Conceptz produced, states the developers had purchased two lots in Hayhurst Road for their development.

The report states the developers had met with other compost operators across the state and discussed their plans with government agencies, water authorities, the CoGB and Country Fire Authority.

The report includes a study that considered the risk of odours and states “the trials have also identified that odours from the end product resulting from disturbance events... would be minimal for a stabilised end product”.

The report forecasts the facility would receive about 21,000 tonnes of biosolids, pig carcasses, chicken waste, green waste, timber off-cuts and sawdust and produce 21,000-cubic-metres of compost annually.

North West Plains councillor Bruce Phillips, whose ward includes Bagshot North, failed to return the Bendigo Advertiser’s call yesterday.

Bendigo and District Environment Council convener Stuart Fraser said he feared the proposed compost facility would “effectively lock people out” of the National Park at Kamarooka.

He said he feared the development would negatively impact the surrounding environment and wildlife.

“The reason why we’re opposed to it is because it’s cheap and it’s dirty,” Mr Fraser said.

“It will be every pathogen imaginable, it’s only metres away from the national park ... bioaerosols will drift off into it with every fungi you can imagine ... you name it, it’s there.”