Gerald Lynch
Westmeadows residents are banding together to fight a plan by MAB corporation to develop buffer land adjacent to the former Tullamarine toxic waste dump.
The planning minister is currently weighing up whether to grant MAB a permit to subdivide the buffer land and build industrial premises.
Cleanaway operated a Prescribed Hazardous Waste facility on the site from 1972 to 2008.
Hume council has previously knocked back applications from MAB to develop the buffer land.
Nearby resident Renae, who asked her surname not be published, said she holds fears for the health and safety of her family if MAB’s proposal is approved.
“This is hugely concerning for me as I have recently purchased my ’forever family home’ very close to the buffer land, doing a massive renovation finally, at the age of 44, achieving the great Australian dream and the anxieties and fear I hold are immense as I fear for the health and safety of my children. We have the airport, the freeway, toxic dump with 122 chemicals in it, all we want is to keep the buffer land as buffer land,“ she said.
Renae is a member of the Terminate Tullamarine Toxic Dump Action Group (TTTDAG), which is fighting to keep the land as a vacant buffer.
Group secretary Helen Van Den Berg pleaded for the planning minister to rule against the proposal, saying it was time the community was made a priority.
“They need to let the area continue to act as a greenspace. It’s full of wildlife including our heritage listed growling grass frog,” she said.
“For peace of mind and residents’ mental health and wellbeing, we just want them to leave the land alone.”
Ms Van Den Berg said that both residents and council advised MAB against purchasing the buffer land.
The group is also concerned about additional traffic noise and fumes associated with increased commerical traffic.
There are also concerns about the environmental impact on the nearby Moonee Ponds Creek.
A MAB spokesperson told Star Weekly “We are cognisant of the planning process that is underway and we are therefore not in a position to provide further comment at this stage“.
