Jennifer Pittorino
Techno Park resident Lara Week has raised questions surrounding apartments within the same advisory area as Techno park.
The Empress Apartments are within the inner advisory area of the major hazard facility at Point Gellibrand, as is Techno Park, yet residential usage of this area was approved in 2020.
Ms Week is aware Hobsons Bay council has not issued any eviction notices for these apartments and is left asking why.
“I want to know if council thinks these apartments are in danger, as they have told the media we are,” she said.
“Similarly to the Empress Apartments I want to know why council didn’t act to remove residents from the Hobsons Bay caravan park, which housed community members for more than 30 years.
“As they say they have an obligation to remove people residing on industrial land.
“We also want to know why council has allowed the community to grow and develop at Techno Park for decades.”
According to a council spokesperson, Techno Park and Empress Apartments cannot be compared.
“From a planning perspective, the location, history and development of these sites are very different to Techno Park, which means they cannot be easily compared,” the spokesperson said.
“Notably, council has never approved of residents living in Techno Park and has a long history of enforcement action when residential use was discovered.
“Council has also never issued any permits or approvals for any residential type uses or buildings in Techno Park and have been advised by owners of properties on Techno Park that they knew their site was on land zoned for industrial use.
“That said, council is sorry for the distress this enforcement action has caused and wants to assure people that we are committed to providing access to support services and granting them more time if they need it.”
