Kingston rejects first step in application to extend industrial waste facility in Green Wedge
Kingston Council has voted to reject the first application by company Alex Fraser to extend its industrial waste operations in Kingston’s Green Wedge.
Alex Fraser has made two applications to Council:
1. A Secondary Consent application which allows an organisation or individual to get written consent or make minor changes to plans directly to Council, without the need to notify the local residents and businesses. A Secondary Consent amendment does not require the plans to be advertised and prevents both objections and appeal rights at VCAT.
2. A formal amendment under the Planning & Environment Act; this application requires Council to notify local residents and businesses, which has occurred in this instance and to date has received 880 objections to the application.
On Monday 25 November, Council rejected the first of these applications (Secondary Consent) on the basis it did not meet the assessment criteria, including that it altered the condition of the existing planning permit which specified that Alex Fraser could operate at that location for a maximum of 15 years.
Council will consider Alex Fraser’s second and formal application at its Planning Committee Meeting on Wednesday 11 December 2019.
Alex Fraser’s permit ends in December 2023 and the company had applied to Council for permission to stay until 2038.
Kingston Mayor Georgina Oxley said Council recognises that Alex Fraser can play a strong role in Victoria’s recycling crisis.
“However, Kingston’s residents have made it clear that they feel they have put up with the waste industry located on their doorstep in the Kingston Green Wedge for far too long,” said Cr Oxley.
In 2015 the Victorian Planning Minister explicitly recognised that waste transfer and recycling facilities are not suitable for green wedge areas and outlawed any new operators while allowing existing operators until the end of their permit to move on.
“Alex Fraser has known for four years they would need to find a new location, and the Victorian Government has been working with them to find alternatives. They still have another four years to find a suitable site that will ensure both the company’s long-term success and an end to waste-related activities in the Green Wedge,” Cr Oxley said.
