Published Echo News June 16, 2023

The York Business Association (YBA) is circulating a petition which has already attracted more than 700 signatories against the proposed York landfill development to be presented to Parliament.
Association president Karen Thomas said while no formal protests have been planned at this stage the group has encouraged members to lobby the relevant ministers and submit an objection to the EPA decision which cut off this week on Wednesday, June 14.
“After we find out the result of this stage of the recommendation we will plan our next move.
“We have gone back to grass roots as most local people thought the whole thing was over and we felt we needed to make them aware that it is ongoing and, if we do nothing it will definitely go ahead,” she said.
“So far, we have done the most work with the petitions and posts on various facebook pages targeting both the community and visitors and any useful contact anyone has.
“Support and awareness is growing each day.
“This time round there seems to be more involvement by locals and most are quite angry. While many are concerned about the environmental issues they are also worried about the extra truck traffic on a road that many frequently use.
“The journey back and forth to Perth is a hazardous enough trip at the best of times with the amount of trucks currently using this route.
“There are also a lot of people working in York but not living here as well as visitors coming on a regular basis to visit family and friends.”
She said the Shire of York was working on it from a legal perspective and a lot of people and groups involved in the previous fight are continuing their good work.
“I figure we need to come at it from as many angles as possible.”
The YBA was only formed in 2017 and has become a lot more active in the last two years working closely with local businesses and the shire to improve outcomes for all of York by running forums for businesses plus various other promotions.