17 September 2020

Parties need to come clean on waste proposals, say Fyshwick businesses

| Ian Bushnell
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Rob Evans

Fyshwick Business Association president Rob Evans outside the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets. Trucks like the one behind him would service the waste centres if approved. Photos: Ian Bushnell.

The Fyshwick Business Association has turned the heat up on the ACT’s major parties, calling for clear policy positions opposing current and future waste proposals for the southside light industrial and retail precinct.

A month out from the official polling day and as submissions close for the draft Environmental Impact Study from Sydney-based Hi-Quality for its proposed multi-stream industrial waste facility in Tennant Street, association president Rob Evans said the parties should support the development of a master plan for Fyshwick.

He said the master plan should exclude the Hi-Quality and Capital Recycling Solutions proposals in Ipswich Street.

Mr Evans attacked Labor’s Chris Steel for his pre-election opposition to the CRS plant, and the wording he used to state Labor’s position, saying it left the door open to its development application still being approved.

READ ALSO Steel cans Fyshwick recycling proposal in pre-election hit but doubts remain

He said the minister for environment and planning Mick Gentleman should declare that he would use his call-in powers if re-elected and still planning minister to reject the proposals.

”We’ve been fighting this for three years and at the 11th hour they’re coming out with a position. It’s not good enough,” he said.

”We don’t have confidence in the current planning process and don’t have confidence in the wording used by Mr Steel – that they’re going to look for options to oppose this.

”Well, there’s an option there and we’re asking them to use it.”

Hi-Quality waste

The entrance to the Hi-Quality waste site on Tennant Street in Fyshwick.

The ACT Greens have called for a moratorium on waste proposals in Fyshwick and a planning review, while the Liberals have said they do not support the CRS proposal in its current form.

Elizabeth Lee has also sponsored a Legislative Assembly petition calling on the government to reject present and future waste proposals in Fyshwick. It has gathered more than 1650 supporters, enough to force the Assembly to deal with the matter.

Mr Evans is hopeful the Liberals will provide a comprehensive policy position on Fyshwick during the campaign.

Region Media has asked for the party to state its position.

READ ALSO Community urged to comment on draft EIS for giant waste hub proposal in Fyshwick

Mr Evans said the parties should commit to the development of a master plan for Fyshwick which excludes large-scale waste proposals that are no longer appropriate for a suburb with a changing commercial profile.

”Fyshwick has evolved on its own over the past 20 years and modernised over past 20 years,” he said.

Asked whether the campaign against the proposals would deter investment in Fyshwick, Mr Evans said what the precinct needed was planning clarity, as did the industrial suburb of Hume where waste facilities should be located.

”The action that deters investment is a lack of policy and planning,” he said. ”Businesses are within their rights to propose businesses such as these, and it should have been clear in the planning policies that Fyshwick is inappropriate for that type of scale.”

Hi-Quality site

The extensive Hi-Quality site will be home to a multi-stream operation.

Mr Evans, who owns the neighbouring ALLBIDS online auction business, has been battling the CRS plans for three years, forming the association in the process and now leading the fight, along with inner south community groups, against large-scale waste processing in Fyshwick.

This also includes Access Recycling’s proposal for a fragmentiser to process car bodies.

The battle for Fyshwick centres on traffic impacts from increased truck movements and concerns about odour, air quality, contamination and fire risks.

Mr Evans said the Hi-Quality proposal, in particular, would result in more than 1400 vehicle movements a day, or more than 140 an hour, and cause chaos, especially at the choke point outside Bunnings.

He said that number of 19-metre long trucks coming and going was simply not compatible with other businesses in Fyshwick.

”Businesses can’t coexist with that scale of industry,” he said.

Both proponents say their traffic modelling suggest that the road system could cope with the increased movements and that mitigation strategies would deal with the other concerns.

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Jacki Percival7:56 am 18 Sep 20

By all means, dump the new waste area in Hume and let the residents of Fadden, Macarthur and Jerrabomberra deal with the “odour, air quality, contamination and fire risks”. Why cant something of this size and nature be miles from any business or residential area?

”The action that deters investment is a lack of policy and planning,” he said. ”Businesses are within their rights to propose businesses such as these, and it should have been clear in the planning policies that Fyshwick is inappropriate for that type of scale.”

So what he’s saying is that most of the businesses of Fyshwick bought into the area knowing that these types of proposals were possible and allowed within the planning system.

Hmmm, so it seems the planning was actually planning clarity, just not one that he likes.

Although he is definitely right that if the government wanted to oppose these types of developments, they should have signalled it to industry and changed the land use of the area years ago.

Conveniently that would also result in many of these other, more commercial type businesses, making significant windfall gains in land value but I’m sure that has nothing to do with their opposition.

Chewy14
“He said that number of 19-metre long trucks coming and going was simply not compatible with other businesses in Fyshwick.“
and …..
”Fyshwick has evolved on its own over the past 20 years and modernised over past 20 years he said.“
and ….
“what the precinct needed was planning clarity, as did the industrial suburb of Hume where waste facilities should be located.“

You can hear the squeals already chewy when it is suggested, under their preferred model for them to pay a contribution through LVC for the upgraded value of the significant windfall gains.

Its like people who buy under the flight path of an airport but then whine and whine and whine about the impact of the airport…

Simm,
I’m unsure what your comment has to do with mine seeing as though you haven’t actually made a point.

What’s stopping the government changing the zoning now?

One option could be to provide access via rail, with the waste transferred from trucks to rail cars somewhere other than this facility. Then all the waste movement could happen away from streets used by other traffic.

There’s still the issue of dust and smells, but that can be mitigated by unloading cars close to the rails (away from the street) and loading processed material into the rail cars on the Tennant Street side of the facility.

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