By Charlene Gatt
A PLANNING panel is deliberating over whether Maribyrnong City Council should convert the disused Bradmill plant in Yarraville to a residential estate.
The panel, which was appointed by Planning Minister Justin Madden, has spent the last two weeks looking at all witness statements and submissions pertaining to the site.
Maribyrnong City Council has proposed to convert the site from part Industrial 1 Zone and part Industrial 3 Zone to part Residential 1 Zone and part Business 1 Zone, to build a housing estate and neighbourhood activity centre.
The Environment Protection Authority, Port of Melbourne Corporation, Victorian Freight and Logistics Council and Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development all lodged objections to the amendment earlier this year.
Most companies said the site was more suited to industrial purposes than as a residential estate because of its proximity to the Brooklyn industrial estate, which provoked hundreds of noise, odour and dust complaints from nearby residents every year.
Residents close to the site are also concerned the new estate could cause traffic congestion along Sanderson, Roberts and Angliss streets, making it more dangerous for students walking to and from Kingsville Primary School.
Risk management company R4Risk agreed that the Bradmill site “would be directly exposed to odour emissions from industry to the north and north-west” in its witness statement to the panel but said industries in Brooklyn were applying odour control technologies to combat this.
The council also used a report by GTA consultants to demonstrate only modest traffic increases in surrounding streets.
Meanwhile, a soil investigation found traces of asbestos fibro cement sheeting debris on the site that needed to be removed. The investigation found it was unlikely there was major soil contamination on the site.
It is expected the panel will report its findings to the council and advise of any alterations within a couple of months.
