THE planning minister is close to making a decision on the future of Alex Fraser Group’s Clarinda recycling plant, The News understands.
The recycler’s permit to operate at the site expires in 2023, but it is applying to stay on until 2038. Kingston Council voted to refuse an extension to the permit last year, but the final decision will ultimately be made by the planning minister. It is understood that an advisory committee appointed to assess the application will make a recommendation this week.
The mayor Georgina Oxley has called for the company’s bid for a longer stay to be rejected.
“The community, council and the government have all agreed that the Green Wedge is simply no place for an industrial waste facility,” she said. “The integrity of the Green Wedge and critically the planning system is at stake if this extension is granted. Please minister, don’t trash our Green Wedge.”
A statement from council reads that the recycling facility is inside a “Green Wedge A Zone” which “prohibits industrial uses including materials recycling and concrete crushing”.
“Locals, environmentalists and Kingston Council have been long anticipating the end of the waste industry in the Green Wedge. But now the Alex Fraser Group has applied for a 15 year extension until 2038, which would open the door to a permanent stay at the site,” Cr Oxley said.
“Approving an extension for a concrete crusher would fly in the face of this government’s and the planning minister’s strong support for the Green Wedge. Protecting green wedges from inappropriate development has been a strong priority of council and the Victorian government and key to that is finally moving on industrial waste operations.
“A permit extension is simply not needed to support the major projects now underway and three years to relocate still gives the company plenty of time to find a suitable site for an industrial waste facility and plan for a smooth transition.”
Alex Fraser Group managing director Peter Murphy hit back at Kingston Council, telling The News that “inaccurate statements” had been made.
He said that the recycling facility makes a “positive contribution to the Green Wedge while operating”.
“The Clarinda recycling facility forms a critical part of Victoria’s network of world class recycling facilities. It represents an important shift away from landfill and quarry activities and is a proven example of the circular economy. Sustainability Victoria has invested in the establishment and development of the site,” Mr Murphy said.
“The site was rezoned to Green Wedge in 2015. The site maintains thousands of trees and lakes that screen site activities and provide a safe habitat for native species. In the next few years this habitat will be further improved in partnership with community groups.
“A 15 year extension to Alex Fraser’s operating permit would ensure recycling of up to one million tonnes of material each year in Melbourne’s south east. This ensures a market for recovered materials and enables the critical supply of construction materials for major infrastructure and ongoing local government projects.
“We look forward to the minister’s decision regarding the future of the Clarinda recycling facility.”
The recycler says it is working with state government agencies to find a new site if it is decided that the Clarinda concrete crushing facility must close.
In November last year, council voted to reject the recycler’s bid for a longer stay. Council received around 800 submissions from residents opposing Alex Fraser Group’s proposal (“Council agrees to take out the trash”, The News, 27/11/19).
Following that decision, the planning minister appointed an advisory committee to hear submissions on the application. The committee will complete a report and make a recommendation to the minister.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 19 August 2020