It’s too late to turn back the clock on residential developments already approved close to dangerous petrochemical plants, but a report commissioned by the state government could stop a repeat of such mistakes.
A review of planning regulations for neighbourhoods near major hazard facilities (MHF) – such as oil refineries – has been submitted to Planning Minister Richard Wynne.
The MHF advisory committee review makes a number of recommendations, including giving greater decision-making power to WorkSafe Victoria.
Save Williamstown spokeswoman Charmian Gaud said if the review had come earlier, high-density high-rise development on the Port Phillip Woollen Mill site – 250 metres from Mobil’s Point Gellibrand tank farm – would not have been allowed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
“They can’t overturn previous Point Gellibrand VCAT decisions with these recommendations, but there is still 60 per cent of the Port Phillip woollen mill site which does not have planning approval,” she said. “At last, council and VCAT will have to take notice of specific planning regulations near MHFs and what Worksafe says.
“As we know, when VCAT approved the high rise [on the mill site] near Cecil Street, it was against the WorkSafe recommendation.
“Hopefully, this state of affairs will never ever happen again,” she said.
The review states that problems and challenges relating to the mill site had “greatly assisted the committee in coming to its conclusions”.
Williamstown MP Wade Noonan, who made a pre-election promise to tighten planning regulations around MHFs, said both residents and operators had highlighted the need for improvements.
“We need to give planning certainty to residents and operators, to ensure buffers are maintained, and safety remains the highest consideration in decision-making,” he said.
Hobsons Bay mayor Sandra Wilson said there was currently little direction in planning schemes to guide planning and developments around MHFs.
“This is a big issue for our community because we have eight of Victoria’s 40 registered MHFs within our municipality,” she said.
