MINING explosives manufacturer Orica is seeking Brimbank council’s help as it looks to sell a 72-hectare section of contaminated land at its Deer Park site.
Orica hopes to earn $100 million through selling the land, believed to be contaminated with lead, but any remediation would be a multi-million-dollar operation and would take years to complete. The company is seeking to rezone half of the eastern end of the site, which has undergone “heavy chemical use”.
According to Orica, the council identified the land as a strategic redevelopment site, given its size and location, and it could be integrated into the wider Deer Park area with uses including retail, commercial, light industrial and community purposes.
The company held two community information sessions in Deer Park on June 24, and residents were able to talk to council and Orica representatives.
An Orica spokesman said it would continue to carry out environmental works on the site and had kept nearby residents up to date with developments.
“It is important to note there’s no new building works being undertaken as part of the rezoning application,” he said.
“The amendment establishes a framework for redevelopment via proposed changes in land use through the rezoning process.”
Planning scheme documents reveal a comprehensive remediation program provides “short, medium and long-term strategies for the clean-up of the site resulting from its past uses”.
The site is believed to be Australia’s oldest manufacturing site, dating back to 1885.
