KEMERTON Industrial Park near Bunbury has been given WA Government approval for a 955 hectare core expansion to 2,100 hectares.
KEMERTON Industrial Park near Bunbury has been given WA Government approval for a 955 hectare core expansion to 2,100 hectares.
The park’s buffer will also be expanded by about 1,810 hectares, giving a total buffer area of about 5,440 hectares.
Concurrently, the Kemerton Advisory Board has been restructured following a review of the management of WA’s industrial estates.
The new body, called the Kemerton Industrial Park Coordinating Committee, will have representatives from the Depart-ment of Resources Development, LandCorp, South West Development Commission, the Shire of Harvey, Bunbury Port Authority, the South West Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Simcoa and Millennium Inorganic Chemicals.
Resources Development Minister Colin Barnett said the committee’s key roles would be to support the planning and development of the park, coordinate local and regional input to the management of the industrial park and advise government on issues affecting the park.
Key tasks included land use and infrastructure planning, land purchase, environmental management, emergency response planning and waste disposal.
Mr Barnett said the government aimed to develop a world class industrial park that had minimal impact on the surrounding landscape.
Approximately 280 hectares are currently utilised for industry and service corridors.
Heavy industries Millennium Inorganic Chemicals and Simcoa Pty Ltd currently operate at Kemerton. There are also a number of support industries including BOC Gases, NuFarm Coogee and Cockburn Cement.
“An expanded Kemerton will contribute significantly to the economy of the South West through employment and flow-on effects to small and medium-sized businesses in the region,” Mr Barnett said.
It is expected the expansion will meet the needs of the South West for the next thirty to fifty years.
The government will now start negotiating to buy land from the three private landowners in the core area and fourteen in the parts designated in the buffer area.
Mr Barnett said the Department of Resources Development had been allocated initial funding to begin land purchases.
Negotiations would be undertaken by LandCorp on behalf of the DRD.
Mr Barnett said the types of development allowed on the expanded park would be determined after considerable community consultation.
“Large strategic industrial areas are needed to cater for developments in resource processing and support industries over the next fifty years.
“Approvals and infrastructure must be in place ahead of need.
“The government is committed to establishing strategic industrial estates throughout the State in which heavy and downstream processing industries can locate.
“These estates provide opportunities to share buffers and infrastructure resources such as roads and rail, and capitalise on any synergies with other industries.”
Mr Barnett said the preferred approach for buffer land was for it to remain in private ownership and used for land purposes compatible with the industrial core, such as agriculture or sand extraction.
Planning Minister Graham Kierath said there would be strict controls placed on the expansion of the area.
“The last thing we want to see is the benefit of a growing industrial park voided by adverse and unwelcome impacts on the local community,” he said.
The park’s buffer will also be expanded by about 1,810 hectares, giving a total buffer area of about 5,440 hectares.
Concurrently, the Kemerton Advisory Board has been restructured following a review of the management of WA’s industrial estates.
The new body, called the Kemerton Industrial Park Coordinating Committee, will have representatives from the Depart-ment of Resources Development, LandCorp, South West Development Commission, the Shire of Harvey, Bunbury Port Authority, the South West Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Simcoa and Millennium Inorganic Chemicals.
Resources Development Minister Colin Barnett said the committee’s key roles would be to support the planning and development of the park, coordinate local and regional input to the management of the industrial park and advise government on issues affecting the park.
Key tasks included land use and infrastructure planning, land purchase, environmental management, emergency response planning and waste disposal.
Mr Barnett said the government aimed to develop a world class industrial park that had minimal impact on the surrounding landscape.
Approximately 280 hectares are currently utilised for industry and service corridors.
Heavy industries Millennium Inorganic Chemicals and Simcoa Pty Ltd currently operate at Kemerton. There are also a number of support industries including BOC Gases, NuFarm Coogee and Cockburn Cement.
“An expanded Kemerton will contribute significantly to the economy of the South West through employment and flow-on effects to small and medium-sized businesses in the region,” Mr Barnett said.
It is expected the expansion will meet the needs of the South West for the next thirty to fifty years.
The government will now start negotiating to buy land from the three private landowners in the core area and fourteen in the parts designated in the buffer area.
Mr Barnett said the Department of Resources Development had been allocated initial funding to begin land purchases.
Negotiations would be undertaken by LandCorp on behalf of the DRD.
Mr Barnett said the types of development allowed on the expanded park would be determined after considerable community consultation.
“Large strategic industrial areas are needed to cater for developments in resource processing and support industries over the next fifty years.
“Approvals and infrastructure must be in place ahead of need.
“The government is committed to establishing strategic industrial estates throughout the State in which heavy and downstream processing industries can locate.
“These estates provide opportunities to share buffers and infrastructure resources such as roads and rail, and capitalise on any synergies with other industries.”
Mr Barnett said the preferred approach for buffer land was for it to remain in private ownership and used for land purposes compatible with the industrial core, such as agriculture or sand extraction.
Planning Minister Graham Kierath said there would be strict controls placed on the expansion of the area.
“The last thing we want to see is the benefit of a growing industrial park voided by adverse and unwelcome impacts on the local community,” he said.
