Kingston rejects extension of industrial waste facility in Green Wedge
Kingston Council has voted to reject an application by company Alex Fraser to extend its industrial waste operations in Kingston's Green Wedge.
Almost 800 community objections have been received against the company's request to stay an extra 15 years at its Kingston Road, Clarinda site.
Kingston Mayor Georgina Oxley said people in Kingston's northern suburbs had put up with the waste industry located on their doorstep in the Kingston Green Wedge for far too long.
"Locals have been waiting for decades to see the end of the waste industry in their neighbourhoods and it's not fair to ask them to put up with it for another 15 years," Cr Oxley said.
"In approving Planning Scheme Amendment C143 in 2015 the Victorian Planning Minister explicitly recognised that waste transfer and recycling facilities are not suitable for green wedge areas and outlawed any new operators while allowing existing operators until the end of their permit to move on," Cr Oxley said.
Alex Fraser's permit ends in 2023 and the company had applied to Council for permission to stay until 2038.
"Council recognises that Alex Fraser can play a strong role in Victoria's recycling crisis, but Kingston's Green Wedge is simply the wrong place for an industrial waste facility as the area transitions to our long-held vision for a Chain of Parks," said Cr Oxley.
"The company has known for four years they would need to find a new location, and the Victorian Government has been working with them to find alternatives. They still have another four years to find a suitable site that will ensure both the company's long-term success and an end to waste-related activities in the Green Wedge," Cr Oxley said.
