By Alesha Capone
Wyndham council has purchased a 2.5 hectare property near the Wests Road tip in Werribee, but has refused to say how much it spent.
The council’s purchase of the land was only revealed recently when VCAT heard a case between the council and the Western Region Environment Centre about the proposed expansion of the tip.
Tribunal documents said that for the purpose of odour modelling, 10 “sensitive receptor locations” had been identified near the tip, the closest within 170 metres of the site boundary to the west.
“This property has been recently purchased by the council with conditions allowing the current occupier to remain in the dwelling for the immediate future, following which the council would assume occupation of the property,” the documents said.
Star Weekly asked the council why it purchased the land, what its plans for the site were and how much was spent acquiring the property.
The council’s chief financial officer Binda Gokhale, said the property, located in the vicinity of Wests Road, was purchased in June, 2016. “The property comprises of a dwelling and sheds and is zoned as Farming Zone,” Ms Gokhale said.
“The property was sold to council with a long-term lease to a local resident. Council is always seeking and considering opportunities to augment its landholdings and this acquisition will assist in the long-term management and operations of the RDF (refuse disposal facility).”
Ms Gokhale said there were “no specific expansion plans for this site”.
In response to a question about how much the property had cost, Ms Gokhale said: “The purchase price was based on assessed market values at the time of purchase.”
Western Region Environment Centre director Harry van Moorst said the centre did not oppose the purchase of the property.
But he said the centre would like to know if the council was considering the purchase of other properties within the tip’s odour zone.
Mr van Moorst said that in recent years a number of residents and business located near the tip had complained about odour issues.
