Exxon Mobil is opposed to a 90-bed nursing home and four-storey residential development that could be built 700 metres from its Altona oil refinery.
Hobsons Bay council last week voted to exhibit a planning scheme amendment to rezone industrial land at 222-258 Kororoit Creek Road, Williamstown North, to pave the way for a two-storey aged-care home and four-storey apartments.
Mobil manager Andrew Warrell said the land, part of what’s known as precinct 13, provided an important buffer zone between residents and the major hazard facility.
“The land is in close proximity to Mobil’s south crude tank farm but, more significantly, it is well within the two-kilometre EPA Victoria recommended amenity buffer zone for petrochemical facilities,” he said.
“Inappropriate residential encroachment on major hazard facilities creates many issues for the business and residents.
“The rezoning of precinct 13 is also counter to the recent Plan Melbourne strategy which defined this area as a significant industrial precinct. Retention of existing safety and amenity buffer zones around the Mobil Altona refinery, such as precinct 13, is an important factor in ensuring the refinery remains a thriving Victorian business into the future.”
The council said the Environment Protection Authority had no objection to the buffer distance proposed between future residents and the refinery.
Council strategic development director Natalie Walker said the safety buffer recommended by the Victorian WorkCover Authority was 300 metres.
She said the applicant had also submitted a risk assessment.
“This council has taken the additional step of having that [assessment] peer reviewed by a third party, who has also concluded that the risk is quite minimal if a residential development was to occur within that buffer distance.”
The council will work with the landowner to help people find alternative accommodation if a caravan park on part of the land is closed.
