Eastgardens will get a new look if Botany Bay City Council approves Orica’s proposed 20 Lot subdivision of land at the corner of Corish Circle and Denison Street.
But what of the existing contamination? The Botany Industrial Park (BIP) is the third largest complex of its type in Australia and consists of three Major Hazard Facilities (MHFs – A Major Hazard Facility has the potential to cause a major accident, where the consequence may rival that of a natural disaster in terms of loss of life):
- the ChlorAlkali Plant (Orica)
- the Surfactants Plant (Huntsman)
- and plastics manufacturing plants (Qenos)
- plus another five MHFs across the road at Port Botany and another two across the railway line in Banksmeadow. Grouped these exponentially increase the level of risk.
In addition there is the:
- contaminated Groundwater Treatment Plant
- Car Park Waste Encapsulation Remediation Project
- stored HCB ‘celebrity’ waste, as titled by Orica’s own Bill Crowe
- Mercury Soil Remediation project which has currently stalled until a more successful method of remediating the mercury can be employed.
And … then there is the increase in risk associated with a Major Dangerous Goods Route and the subsequent growth in population and traffic this development would bring. This risk has been highlighted in both the Botany/Randwick Industrial Land Use Safety Study, 2001 and Botany Bay City Council’s own DCP 30, yet strangely not considered in the proposed subdivision.
Not to mention, an international airport, major shopping centre, premier sporting ground, and suburbs with booming property values and bursting with young families. It’s as obvious as the nose on your face that this is a recipe for disaster. And all within 10 km of a globally celebrated city!
Surely this area has borne enough of the cost of industrial development and deserves some respite from the horrors of the past.
Surely our communities are entitled to some reassurances from our local, state and federal representatives that our health and well-being are respected.
Surely this land would better serve Sydney’s environment and communities as a buffer from this heavily industrialised and contaminated precinct whose legacy will be with us for hundreds of years.
Register your objection to this development with Botany Bay City Council.
OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS:
- Statement of Environmental Effects – ORICA Proposed subdivision
- Botany Industrial Park 2011 - this brochure provides an overview of BIP activities and emergency procedures
18/05/2012 at 1:14 pm 
17/05/2012 at 10:53 pm 
29/04/2012 at 10:02 pm 
Here is the Botany Bay Mayor’s direct emai link.Please tell him what you think about this madness.http://www.botanybay.nsw.gov.au/index.php/have-your-say-email-the-mayor/form/3?random=0
The DA for this proposal was submitted to Botany Council in December 2010 – for the Christmas holidays and in the lead up to the March State Elections. The Minister for Planning at the time was Mr Tony Kelly.
There are arguably more Randwick residents likely to be impacted yet how many residents in Randwick’s South Ward knew about this until we were alerted to it by Steve Haigh in December 2011. There was no media release and Orica didn’t give information to community volunteers who attend the various liaison committees it runs.
Until the Botany Aquifer is cleared of ICI/Orica contamination there shouldn’t be any approvals for redevelopment at the BIP and Southlands.
After the Aquifer is clean only developments which genuinely enhance the local environment should be considered. The area is zoned for port related activity. Light manufacturing with extensive buffers (eg. vegetation and wetlands) might work. But warehousing and container parks which generate heavy vehicle traffic and negatively impact the surrounding neighbourhoods and port operations should not be considered. Containers unloaded at Port Botany need to go out by train to a distributed network of intermodal terminals.
Because of its proximity to the Sydney CBD, congestion on access roads and freeways, proximity to the airport, concentration of hazardous industry (10 of the 42 Major Hazard Facilities) North Botany Bay is not suitable.