Hobsons Bay council has deferred making a decision on a proposed eight-storey, 62-dwelling development at Williamstown due to concerns about its proximity to Mobil’s fuel tanks.
AVJennings’ proposed development at 3-39 Nelson Place forms part of the Port Phillip Woollen Mill site.
To date, permits have been issued for 218 apartments and 74 townhouses on the mill site.
The council received 53 objections to the latest proposal, including submissions from Mobil and residents’ lobby group Save Williamstown.
Most concerns were about heritage, traffic, parking, strain on infrastructure and the site’s proximity to a major hazard facility (MHF), Mobil’s Point Gellibrand tank farm.
A review of planning regulations for neighbourhoods near MHFs has been submitted to Planning Minister Richard Wynne, but appears not to have been signed off.
The MHF advisory committee review makes a number of recommendations, including giving greater decision-making power to WorkSafe Victoria.
Cr Jonathon Marsden, who was on a council special planning committee reviewing AVJennings’ latest plans on Thursday, said the council was awaiting Mr Wynne’s report.
“The impending release of the minister’s report meant that it would have been foolhardy and rash to make a determination,” he said.
AVJennings’ latest plans plans showed 83 car parking spaces and a communal rooftop garden.
