By Carol Altmann

Midfield Meats is again shaking the earth around Merrivale and beyond with plans – officially released today (29/8/18) – to shut its rendering plant at Levy’s Point and build a new, $18 million plant next to its abattoir in Scott St.

This is a momentous move, with implications all round.

On the upside, if the relocation is approved by the EPA and Warrnambool City Council, it will free up the Levy’s Point land for the first time in 53 years and shut down what is one of the greatest assaults to the senses ever encountered by cyclists innocently peddling along the rail trail.

The place stinks and when the big gate is open, it is a horror show.

It was only three years ago that Midfield fought and won a long battle to remain at Levy’s Point, but the conditions around that approval – it seems – will cost more in the long run than moving to a new, purpose-built, super-dooper plant at 24 Scott St.

Except…

24 Scott St is near houses – the residential zone is just 250m away.

And 24 Scott St is near a primary school – just 400m away.

These are the two things that Merrivaleans, and others, pointed out when Midfield decided in 2014 that it wanted to build a powdered milk factory in Scott St.

After a huge battle, that project was also approved, but has not yet been built.

Merrivaleans must be exhausted from fight after fight, but it is not only those who live there who need to get their heads around this plan, it is all of us, because it signals a major and permanent change to a part of Warrnambool that is a lot closer to town that Levy’s.

You can read the whole 27-page plan here but here’s a quick summary from the EPA:

– two processing lines, processing up to 400 tonnes a day;

– operating hours will be between 7pm-12am weekdays and 1–5pm on Saturdays, but it will have the capacity to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week

–  a new, purpose built bio-filter;

– processing carried out in an enclosed building;

– wastewater from the plant and abattoir will be combined and pretreated at the recently upgraded onsite wastewater treatment facility before discharging to the sewer;

– improved energy efficiency, less transport movements and water consumption and eliminate amenity impacts when compared with the existing facility;

– key environmental issues are odour emission control and Q-fever risk management;

– other issues are stormwater management and noise controls.

 

Nobody can argue against building a better plant, but just like the milk powder factory before it, the concern is not only with what is being built, but where it is being built.

The best rendering plant in the world is still a rendering plant, and I am not sure if that is what we want a stone’s throw from houses, a school and less than 2km from the Warrnambool Base Hospital.

While Scott St is an industrial zone, Warrnambool’s growth has caught up with it. What was once on the edge of town is now within it.

There is no doubt Midfield is an important player in Warrnambool but it has changed too: it now operates on a global scale and, in 2017, was ranked number 769 out of the top 2000 companies in Australia.

According to IbisWorld, Midfield Meat International generated a total revenue of $510,270,000 in 2017. That’s not all profit, of course, but not a bad turnover for just one year.

 

Given the huge success of Midfield, perhaps it is time to ask why it can’t invest in moving its entire operations right out of town, away from wetlands and houses and schools and our ever-expanding suburbs.

Surely this would provide a solution that works not just for the next 10 or 20 years, but for the next 100, and both Midfield – and Merrivale – could rest easier.

A public information session on the plan will be held from 4pm-6pm, 18 September, Archie Graham Centre, Timor St, Warrnambool.

 

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The Terrier – Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 35px; color: #8cc7d0;”] T [/dropcap]wo of the most controversial projects to be approved in Warrnambool in recent times – the milk processing factory in Merrivale and a nine-storey apartment block on Merri St – have been put on the backburner by their developer, the Midfield Group.

It is now two years since both projects received planning approval, but not much has happened at either site since.

The milk factory was expected to be up and running within 12 to 18 months of being given the green light from an independent planning panel in May 2015.

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It is a similar story with the proposed nine-storey apartment block on the corner of Merri and Gillies streets, which – despite arguments to save it – saw the 1940s Madden’s/Sandilands building demolished within weeks after the development was approved in early 2015.

When the planning application was lodged by Tract Consultants, acting on behalf of Baybern Developments/Midfield, it urged the Warrnambool City Council to approve the project as quickly as possible because its client was keen to get started.

The prominent corner block remains vacant and wire fenced, joining the Criterion Hotel site, the former Caltex petrol station on Raglan Parade, and the former Warrnambool gas works near Harris Reserve as “frozen” projects that have sat untouched.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 35px; color: #8cc7d0;”] T [/dropcap]

he Midfield Group and Baybern Developments are owned by one of Warrnambool’s most successful businessmen, Colin McKenna.

A spokesman for Midfield and Baybern, Daniel Aarons, said today that the company’s priorities had changed for both projects since it bought a former potato processing plant in Penola, South Australia, that it is now converting into a $60 million milk processing plant.

On the Merrivale milk processing plant:

“Our intention is to still build in Warrnambool, but works have commenced in Penola and that is our priority at the moment,” he said.

The South Australian Government gave Midfield a $2 million grant toward the $60 million Penola project, which is close to completion.

“Penola needs to be completed, commissioned, bedded down and we need to learn how to run the plant and that is all going to come on line in the next couple of months,” Mr Aarons said.

“Penola takes precedence and then we will focus on Warrnambool,” he said.

When asked if a start on the Warrnambool plant was at least two years away, Mr Aarons said it was more likely to be 12 months.

On the Merri St apartments:

“There is not much to say, but it is still our intention to proceed,” Mr Aarons said.

“Things are moving, things are progressing, admittedly they are progressing slowly, but they are moving”.

While potential buyers can still lodge expressions of interest with Wilson Real Estate, Mr Aarons said it was not known when construction would actually begin.

I know of at least one potential investor who lodged an expression of interest, but then heard nothing more. They have since invested elsewhere in Warrnambool.

“We haven’t confirmed a start date, but we are moving along gently, gently. It is not something we need to push quickly, but it is progressing,” Mr Aarons said.

“We have our hands full with multiple projects at the moment and we have to get a couple of key priorities out of the way.”

[dropcap style=”font-size: 35px; color: #8cc7d0;”] T [/dropcap]

he slow-down on the Merrivale milk plant, if it goes ahead at all, will be a sigh of relief to those who fought passionately to stop a project that would be 35m in height and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Scott St plant, unlike the Penola plant which is several miles out of town, is in the heart of Merrivale and would be less than 100m from houses.

At the time of the approval process, the Midfield Group said the processing plant and an adjacent cold storage facility would create up to 200 jobs, but this was later wound back to 22 full time jobs.

The $70 million project received a $1.5 million grant from the former Napthine State Government and the Warrnambool City Council also sold a portion of its depot land to Midfield for the expansion.

One question I did not get time to ask the council today is how long planning permits are valid for before they need to be updated or expire?

I will let you know the answer as soon as I do.

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he proposed milk processing factory and cold storage plant at Midfield Meats still need planning approval, but at least one real estate company is urging Merrivale homeowners to consider selling in case property values fall.

Red Circle real estate associate Phil Gray has letter-dropped several streets in the Merrivale area to tell homeowners about a potential opportunity to sell their property before any impact on prices from the Midfield development.

“I’ve been following the progress of the plans to further develop the Midfield site, which may have an impact on the sale prices of Merrivale homes in the future,” Mr Gray writes.

“This could be a great opportunity for a change of scenery as we have been approached by an investor looking to buy properties to rent to future workers,” the letter says.

Mr Gray told Bluestone that the investor was not, as some residents believed, connected to the Midfield group, but was a number of individual people.

“Several people have put it to me that they think it would be a good investment to buy in the area, not to live in, but just to rent because they feel rental prices will increase,” he said.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] P [/dropcap]roperty prices, however, may go down as a result of the development, he said.

“We are expecting it to have some kind of effect,” Mr Gray said.

Mr Gray’s letter also reinforces this point: “…this could be the perfect opportunity to move forward and take full advantage of the current market situation”.

A significant portion of the Midfield Meats workforce is made up of overseas workers on temporary visas who need to rent, rather than buy, in the Merrivale and west Warrnambool area.

“Investors see Merrivale as good for rental returns because of the relatively low property prices and, either way, there is strong demand for rentals in the area,” Mr Gray said.

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Words: Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] W [/dropcap]hen Janis and Dean Bennett bought their little rough diamond of a house in Merrivale almost 10 years ago, they knew it wasn’t far from the Midfield meatworks, but they could live with that.

Like most young couples, they needed a home that would fit their budget and the little suburb on the west side of Warrnambool had a lot going for it: a primary school, a football and cricket club, close to a river and beach, and within walking distance to town.

The Bennetts have since had a child and, through hard work, slowly transformed their “rough diamond” into a cosy home, with a thriving vegie patch, herb garden and chicken coop. Merrivale has also changed from being a very working-class suburb to a socio-economic mix of people wanting to live in an area with character and a strong sense of community.

But now the people of Merrivale are being asked to accept two enormous changes to their suburb: a 29m tall cold storage facility (basically, a giant fridge) and a 35m tall milk powder factory, both of which would operate 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, on Scott St.

In what is shaping up as a classic David v Goliath battle, people like the Bennetts are battling to have the expansion stopped and will put their case to an independent panel hearing that starts in Warrnambool on Tuesday, Feb 3. (See end of story for details and timetable).

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] W[/dropcap]hen the projects were first announced by the Midfield Group, they were expected to create up to 200 jobs. It has since been revealed, however, that only up to 22 full-time jobs will be created after construction. Property prices are also expected to be affected.

“We are not against a milk factory being built, but it is just in the wrong place: it needs to be out of town,” Janis said.

The planning laws, as they stand, agree with her.

Both projects require land to be rezoned from Public Use to Industrial, including land that was once owned by the people (as Crown land) and used by the Warrnambool City Council depot, until it was sold off to Midfield last year.

The Warrnambool Planning Scheme also asks that a cold store be no less than 150m from the nearest dwelling. The nearest house is less than 100m away.

The scheme also recommends that a milk processing factory be at least 300m from a home. The nearest house will be 130m.

The reason for these protections, of course, are that large-scale factories and freezers bring with them noise, lights, extra trucks, extra traffic and a whole raft of potential hazards that don’t sit well with residential areas.

“We quite happily live near a pre-existing industrial zone, but we also knew that there were laws in place to prevent certain things happening and to make sure that things weren’t forced through,” Dean said.

“The council is now being asked to change those laws and there is an expectation that it will go ahead because of the money behind it.”

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] T [/dropcap]he Bennetts are among those particularly concerned about the potential health risks of the expansion and the fact that both projects will be within 1km of a primary school.

As one Gippsland milk powder factory owner said after his factory exploded in 2012, explosions are “an occupational hazard” of such plants.

“I know we are talking worst case scenarios, but they can happen and (Midfield) has to plan for such things happening: this is what they want to put on our doorstep,” Janis said.

The Merrivale Community Association will be among those represented at the independent panel hearing, together with at least another 17 submitters against or in favour of the project.

Spokesman Keith McAlley – who will represent the MCA – has been wading through around 8kg of documents that outline the expert witnesses to be called by Midfield and the council.

There will be lawyers and QCs and a string of experts, and then there will be Keith, and other speakers from the community who wish to have their say.

“It is daunting, but I am at that point in my life where I ask ‘what can I do to help myself?’ and ‘what can I do to help my community?,” Keith said.

Keith hopes that wider Warrnambool will get behind the MCA campaign, because he believes the impact of the development will be felt across the city through more large trucks on the road, damage to roads and a dramatic change to the visual landscape of west Warrnambool.

“As ratepayers, you will be picking up the repair bill for any damage to the road, for example,” he said.

Once the independent panel has heard all submissions, it will make recommendations to the council.

It is then up to the council to decide if it will accept or reject the recommendations: giving the Midfield Group either a green or red light.

[learn_more caption=”Click here for the panel hearing timetable”]

Hearings start at 10am and finish around 4.30pm, South-west TAFE, Level 3.

Tuesday, Feb 3: (All day)

Representatives for Warrnambool City Council.

Wednesday Feb 4:

AM: Environmental Protection Authority; Representatives for 92 Liebig St Pty Ltd.

PM: Site inspection at Scott St. (2.30pm-4.30pm)

Thursday, Feb 5: Representatives for Midfield Meat International.

Friday, Feb 6: Representatives for Midfield Meat International.

Tuesday, Feb 10: Representatives for Midfield Meat International.

Wednesday, Feb 11:

AM: Merrivale Community Association.

PM: Various submitters from the community.

Thursday, Feb 12: Various submitters from the community.

Friday, Feb 13:

AM: Midfield Meat International closing comments and right of reply.

PM: Warrnambool City Council closing comments and right of reply.

[/learn_more]

[box]You can access the full set of relevant W’bool City Council planning amendment documents here. The Change.org online petition against the the development can be signed here.[/box]

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