Deal to save room for ’shrooms

A mushroom grower in Mernda is promising to reduce possible conflict with new residents while creating jobs, in exchange for a rezoning that would secure the company’s future.

The Mushroom Exchange — the largest grower in the southern hemisphere — has offered to remove all its compost making from its Cookes Road site. It would also locate its building production and warehouse facilities away from new residential areas in Mernda and Doreen.

The company, a division of the Costa Group, wants the site rezoned from farming to a special-uses zone specifically for mushroom production.

‘‘A rezoning of the site will provide our business with the certainty we need in order to invest further capital, increase mushroom production by up to 100 tonnes [a week] and potentially create up to 300 new jobs,’’ Mushroom Exchange general manager Richard Hamley said.

‘‘The proposed new development … will be contained to the southern part of the site, with no new development occurring in the northern half.’’ Mr Hamley said the new mushroom production and warehouse facilities would be kept away from the nearest houses and all compost making would be removed from the site.

A council report said the Environment Protection Authority had advised that moving the compost operation would mean that ‘‘land-use conflict [in the future] is unlikely’’. The Whittlesea council is consulting with the public for three weeks before deciding whether to refer the application to the Planning Minister Matthew Guy.