A PLAN for a private regional saleyards at Mortlake is facing competition for livestock not only from south-west municipal yards but also from another rival operator.
Regional Infrastructure Pty Ltd (RIPL) managing director Garry Edwards said his company’s bid to set up a regional saleyards was still active and it was doing “due diligence” on potential sites in the south-west.
RIPL’s move puts it in competition with the regional saleyards proposed for Mortlake by a consortium fronted by Yass businessman Brendan Abbey.
It adds to the debate about the future direction for saleyards in the region with both Warrnambool City (WCC) and Corangamite councils recently committing to investing in their own municipal saleyards.
Both councils had discussions with RIPL in past years about shutting their saleyards in favour of a regional one proposed by RIPL but WCC withdrew from the talks last year. WCC this year committed to spend $500,000 over the next two financial years for additional roofing at its saleyards.
