More than $300 million in benefits could be delivered to Brooklyn industries and the community in the next 30 years through a new plan for the Brooklyn Industrial Precinct, Victoria University believes.
The plan, Living Brooklyn, was bankrolled through a $405,000 state government grant and set up to create a business case and vision to manage future pollution problems in the precinct.
Victoria Institute of Strategic Economic Studies research fellow Roger Jones said that with recommended investments into the precinct, including up to $6 million for dust control, there would be big benefits for the community.
As part of the Growing Brimbank program, the plan seeks to create “a world-class industrial eco-park that is the pride of place for the people working and living in Brooklyn”, Dr Jones said.
VU is one of the project’s partners.
Dust problem
Dr Jones said that for these financial benefits to be attained, dust load from the precinct would have to be “halved or slightly better”.
“That would cause local house prices to rise as the environment becomes cleaner and the area loses its stigma,” he said.
“The wellbeing of adjacent populations increases, cases of asthma and other respiratory diseases reduces.
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“Land prices in the industrial area would increase.”
Dr Jones said the precinct, on about 330 hectares of industrial-zoned land that hosts more than 60 industries, created more than 110 tonnes of pollutants each year into Kororoit and Stony creeks.
He said air quality standards remained a big concern.
“The air quality is also the poorest in Melbourne,” Dr Jones said in a recent presentation.
He said Living Brooklyn, led by Brimbank council, did not have the total support of businesses to clean up the precinct.
