The state’s planning tribunal has expressed surprise at the lack of Victorian guidelines as it refused a permit to build a Newport childcare centre near a fuel terminal.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) upheld Hobsons Bay council’s rejection of a two-storey, 112-place centre at 463-465 Melbourne Road, Newport.
Wilcon Projects’ application had included a rooftop playspace.
VCAT member Phillip Martin said the site was about 290 metres from a Viva Energy Australia fuel terminal, classified as a major hazard facility (MHF).
“The Viva fuel terminal … is a major supplier of Melbourne’s day-to-day fuel consumption, including aviation fuel for the airport.”
Mr Martin said “curiously” there were no formal planning controls in Victoria when it came to developing land for sensitive uses near a MHF. However, he said WorkSafe advised against certain developments within 300 metres of one.
In refusing the application, Mr Martin said he had to consider the risk of a vapour cloud explosion (VCE), triggered by a fuel vapour leak that gradually builds up and ignites.
He said there was “a real risk of …metal and glass, falling in a more vertical manner on children playing in the ground level open play area or the rooftop”. Victoria has 45 major hazard sites, eight of them in Hobsons Bay.
