Council adopts wood policy

Harvey Shire Council voted on Tuesday to encourage the use of timber in the residential and industrial building industries within the shire.

Cr. Bill Adams first introduced the idea when he put forward a Notice of Motion for a Wood Encouragement Policy at the June 4 council meeting.

Council staff expanded on the concept of the proposed policy and prepared a draft Sustainable Buildings, Materials and Construction Practices Policy for councillors to consider.

The draft policy will be advertised for public consultation.

It follows in the footsteps of other local governments around Australia introducing similar policies.

The move is to promote the use of renewable, reusable, recycled and recyclable material.

In a report to the council, manager for planning services Simon Hall noted the significant benefit to the environment which could result when the responsible selection of building materials was combined with improved construction methods and practices.