By ALESHA CAPONE
FORTY-FIVE Sunshine North businesses operating illegally or without permits have been caught out by Brimbank City Council.
The council’s acting director of city development, Stuart Menzies, said Brimbank’s Planning Compliance Unit began a “pro-active planning enforcement program of the North Sunshine Industrial Estate in early 2013”.
“More than 100 properties have been inspected to date, and approximately 45 businesses have been found to be operating either illegally or without a relevant planning permit for the land use, development or signage on the site,” he said.
“There have been a total of 34 planning infringement notices issued to land owners/tenants in the North Sunshine Industrial Estate over the past 12 months, predominately for the contravention of existing planning permit conditions or for the land being used without a relevant planning permit.”
Mr Menzies said the council has taken four landowners and tenants to VCAT in the past 12 months.
He said the biggest business operating without a relevant planning permit, investigated by the council, employed approximately 20 staff.
“The most common types of businesses operating without a relevant planning permit generally comprise of material recycling operations (skip bin operators and car wreckers) and vehicle and equipment stores,” Mr Menzies said.
“Council has also come across illegal rubbish dumping, buildings constructed without planning or building permits and signage erected without planning approval.”
Mr Menzies said council officers had investigated a number of operations that “undertake industrial processes, storage of materials and other activities that if not conducted properly would potentially affect health and amenity”.
“Where the unauthorised operation poses a risk to the community or surrounding land uses the operators may be required to cease operation immediately,” he said.
Mr Menzies said before the council issued a planning infringement notice to a business, they first supplied an official warning and gave every employer an opportunity to comply with the requirements of the Brimbank Planning Scheme, within an agreed timeframe.
“The preferred approach taken to compliance by council is to work with businesses to help legitimise their operation by encouraging them to obtain a relevant planning permit to ensure the operation is consistent with the Brimbank Planning Scheme and does not impact on surrounding industries/businesses,” Mr Menzies said.
