By Laura Michell
Every Friday night, Rosa Radipitse has to hose down her backyard, outdoor seating and the solar panels on the roof of her Scarlet Drive house to remove the thick layers of dust blanketing them.
The dust covering Ms Radipitse’s home comes from giant piles of dirt next to her fence as a result of works on the former quarry at 149 McKimmies Road in Bundoora.
Intrapac Property Group is transforming the infill site into a residential neighbourhood comprising about 700 homes.
As part of the works, the original quarry hole is being dug up and refilled.
Ms Radipitse said while she is “all for” the housing development, she takes issue with workers stacking piles of dirt at roof height next to her fence.
She said the dirt stacks are so close to her fence that a water truck used to wet down the dirt is only able to spray water on the dirt on the side furthest from her home.
As a result, when the wind whips up, dust from the Scarlet Drive side of the dirt stack blankets her home and garden, she said.
“This summer has been hot and dry and the dust has been next level,” Ms Radipitse said.
“The last six months have been the worst it has ever been.”
Ms Radipitse said the dust interferes with her family’s ability to enjoy their garden and prevents them from opening the windows and using their evaporative cooler.
“There is a musky clay smell when we use our evaporation cooler. We have spent a lot of money changing our air conditioning to refrigerated cooling,” she said.
“My roof is cream Colorbond and now it is poo brown.
“We can’t eat the fruit grown in our backyard because it is covered in dirt.
“We can’t out our washing outside.
“We can’t even open our windows because of the level of dust.”
She is calling for the dirt piles to be moved or at least lowered to a height that would enable her garden fence to provide some protection from the dust.
However, her complaints about the dust have been ignored by Intrapac, she said.
As a result, Ms Radipitise and her neighbours submitted a petition signed by 25 residents of the Botanica Park estate to Whittlesea council, asking it to investigate the dust levels in Scarlet Drive.
Ms Radipitise said she started the petition after reaching out to her new ward councillor, deputy mayor Daniela Zinni, on social media.
Speaking at the March 18 council meeting, during which the petition was table, Cr Zinni said she would work with council to address the residents’ concerns and help minimise the development’s impact on their lives.
She said she wanted to ensure the residents’ concerns were heard.
“Their wellbeing is my top priority,” she said.
Council has referred the issue to chief executive Craig Lloyd who will report back to a future council briefing on any action taken as a result of the petition.
An Intrapac spokesperon said the developer has not been contacted by council regarding the petition.
“Dust levels at the 149 McKimmies Road site are subject to ongoing monitoring. Intrapac’s longitudinal records show that dust levels have not exceeded acceptable levels as designated by the [Environment Protection Authority],” the spokesperson said.
“Intrapac’s contractors regularly liaise with council and EPA representatives and have not been made aware of any recent complaints.
Intrapac continues to make efforts far beyond the regulators’ requirements to reduce dust.”
