By Alesha Capone
MARIBYRNONG and Hobsons Bay city councils are set to conduct business surveys within the Brooklyn Industrial Precinct early this year.
The surveys will complement a Brimbank City Council business survey which was completed in November last year, after the three councils teamed up with the Department of Planning and Community Development to conduct the reviews.
The surveys aim to find out what types of businesses are in Brooklyn, why they chose to operate from the area and what issues affect them, to assist in developing a “vision” for land use within the industrial estate across the next 25 years.
Residents in the Brooklyn area have long been plagued by dust, odour and noise issues, issuing from some of the nearby businesses.
Last week, Brimbank City Council’s acting general manager of city development, Carey Patterson, said the council was taking action within the Brooklyn area.
“Council is currently seeking an enforcement order against one of the larger property owners and their tenant at VCAT. The hearing is scheduled for February,” he said.
“Council is also undertaking investigations on an owner adjacent to Kororoit Creek.”
A council report into the Brooklyn precinct, released last November, found “the quality and nature of infrastructure in the precinct is currently inadequate to support existing or future investment in industry and employment generating uses”.
Last year, the state Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued Australian Tallow Pty Ltd with a notice, requiring them to undertake work at their Geelong Rd site, to address longstanding odour issues in Brooklyn.
In May, oilseed crushing plant Cargill Processing Ltd agreed to undertake more than $600,000 in works to fix odour issues at its Somerville Rd site.
Transpacific Waste Management Pty Ltd was also fined $6000 by the EPA for breaching their licence permitting nuisance dust beyond the boundary of a Jones Rd landfill, Tasman Logistics was fined for failing to address an existing notice and Chemprod Nominees was fined for the discharge of contaminated water into storm water.
See www.brooklynip.com.au for more information.
