An aerial view of the West Belconnen site needing demolition and removal. Photos: GHD.
The ACT Government is moving to clear remaining infrastructure at the old West Belconnen tip so the 107-hectare site can be integrated into the Ginninderry development near the NSW border.
The government’s waste manager, ACT NoWaste, has lodged a development application for demolition works and the removal of waste and hazardous materials on the site, which sits in the centre of Ginninderry, being developed jointly by the ACT Government and Corkhill Brothers’ Riverview Developments.
The site includes the West Belconnen Resource Management Centre (WBRMC) managed by ACT NoWaste and operated by Goldsmith Environmental, the recycling drop-off centre, Traction Tyre Disposal and Recycling, the former Parkwood Road Recycling Estate (PRRE), and Canberra Sand and Gravel, which runs a composting facility.
The demolished Mr Fluffy loose-fill asbestos houses were dumped in landfill there. However, while most of the asbestos had been safely disposed of, some remains.
Businesses still on the site are winding down as the land is prepared for handover to Ginninderry for non-residential development and community facilities.
The proposed works involve removing and demolishing infrastructure at the PRRE, the recycling drop-off centre, and elsewhere on the site.
This includes concrete hardstands and site sheds, oil tanks, oil collection and waste recycling facilities, gates and fences, site offices, buildings, sheds and other structures, irrigation, pumps and tanks.
The site next to the NSW border and nearby West Belconnen suburbs.
While the land will need to be remediated and rehabilitated post-demolition, and any related future development application for the site will be referred to the Environment Protection Authority, identified hazardous materials will need to be removed before the bulldozers move in.
As well as asbestos, a Pre-Demolition Hazardous Building Materials (HBM) Survey identified lead paint, synthetic mineral fibre (SMF) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) being present.
ACT NoWaste and the EPA have agreed on approved disposal locations and methods for the various waste streams, as part of the waste management plan.
A sediment and erosion control plan includes a silt fence to be erected along the low point site boundary to protect the verge, with a wall of hay bales to capture the majority of sediments before they can reach the fence.
Neighbouring areas can expect an increase in truck traffic transporting demolition equipment and removing waste materials during the works, which will take place in two stages – 20 weeks each for the PRRE and WBRMC.
Measures will also be taken to mitigate bushfire risks including bushfire training, firefighting equipment and safety gear on-site and in vehicles, and spark arrestors fitted to plant.
Ginninderry is a master-planned development that stretches from the north-western suburbs of Canberra (Holt and Macgregor) across the ACT/NSW border into a part of the Yass Valley.
It is being developed over 30 to 40 years and will eventually be home to 30,000 residents.
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