Jennifer Pittorino
A group of Yarraville residents are asking Maribyrnong council to hear their concerns over an application for the expansion of a cement facility.
Steel Cement has lodged a development application for its Yarraville site which features a manufacturing plant and grinding mill.
Resident Sara Borowiak said the application proposes to expand Steel Cement’s grinding capability and introduce clinker processing to make its own cement.
“I live very close to the proposed site, about 100 metres away,” she said.
“We are mostly concerned about the pollution that will be generated from the cement factory, both noise and air pollution.
“The fact that there is going to be all this unsafe and toxic dust close to families and parks are the community’s main concerns.”
Planning documents reveal the site is zoned Industrial 1 and an extra 185 trucks and 24 staff vehicles would travel through the site every day, for a total of 400 truck movements.
Maribyrnong council chief executive Celia Haddock confirmed a planning application had been lodged for the Whitehall Street site.
“The community can provide feedback by completing a submission or objection to a planning permit form,” she said.
“Council is expected to make a decision later this year.”
Ms Borowiak said with the recent declaration of s health emergency in Maribyrnong she is unsure how this facility is even being considered.
“Maribyrnong council themselves declared a health emergency,” she said.
“We all know about the impact of air and noise pollution from trucks using local roads.
“We know there is illness leading to hospitalisation and how pollution is a lot worse here than the Australian average.“
The application has left residents with the impression that building the West Gate Tunnel will have been a waste of time if industrial facilities continue being approved in the inner west.
“This tunnel is said to remove all these trucks from our roads, and now a facility is going to be built to put those trucks back on local roads next to houses,” Ms Borowiak said.
“We just want industrial premises to be much further away from local communities.”
The EPA has received a development licence application and is seeking feedback from affected residents.
