A COMMUNITY group has urged Hobsons Bay City Council to reject plans for a $55 million “inland port” at Altona, amid fears of noise pollution and a glut of heavy traffic in residential areas.
The project, earmarked for paddocks near the Altona Baseball stadium, would also strip wildlife of endangered grassland habitat, according to Hobsons Bay Community First spokesperson Tony Briffa.
The State Government-backed proposal aims to reduce heavy road traffic between Melbourne’s port and the western suburbs by providing rail links for transporting shipping containers to the inland port.
The Altona port would cover 51 hectares and include storage areas for 10,000 containers, three warehouses covering nearly 80,000 square metres and five railway spurs off the existing Melbourne to Geelong line.
Councillors will decide whether to approve the works, to be carried out by Salta Constructions, at a meeting later this week.
But Mr Briffa said residents were concerned about the impact of having trains laden with containers entering the complex five times each day.
The project would also funnel a further 2800 heavy vehicles into the Kororoit Creek Rd and Burns Rd intersection each day, 1800 of which would be semi-trailers.
“There will be additional noise from the unloading of trains and loading of trucks (and) the current proposal does not allow for any sound attenuation along the track or container facility,” Mr Briffa said.
“The ramifications for residents in Hobsons Bay are huge.”
He said it was inappropriate to locate such a development “in the middle of a large suburban growth area”.
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for the port to be outside the residential growth area, like Avalon, Lara or Little River,” Mr Briffa said.
He also criticised the Environmental Protection Authority for approving plans to remove endangered grasses from the site.
“I’m surprised at this and wonder what affect it will have on native fauna.”
He said nearby residents were not given enough warning that the port would be built on their doorsteps.
The fate of the project rests in the hands of Mayor Bill Baarini, Altona councillor Leigh Hardinge and Williamstown North councillor Peter Hemphill.
The three councillors will hear arguments for and against the proposal at a special planning committee meeting on Thursday before deciding whether to approve it.
Both Crs Baarini and Hardinge said it would be “unfair” to comment on the proposal before the meeting.
“If I was to comment either way it would be like saying you’re going in with a preconceived idea and that’s not fair to the applicant or the objectors,” Cr Hardinge said.
“I don’t make decisions until I’ve heard both sides of the argument.”
