Landfill from old Royal Adelaide Hospital demolition could go to Gillman site
WRECKING balls will level the old Royal Adelaide Hospital later this year, creating 300,000 tonnes of waste. It’s all got to go somewhere — and one of SA’s most politically notorious sites is a lead contender.
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A HUGE 300,000 tonnes of waste will be removed from the old Royal Adelaide Hospital after the wrecking ball levels it later this year, and the mountain of debris could find a home at the notorious Gillman site.
Urban Development and Housing Minister Stephen Mullighan has confirmed the State Government could use land it owns at Gillman’s Grand Trunkway Rd, near the site of failed plans for an oil and gas hub promised before the last election, for the old RAH landfill.
The hub plan failed last year, after being the subject of an Independent Commission Against Corruption probe that uncovered maladministration.
The State Government now has five new commercial bids to use the Gillman site, which it has been sitting on since February.
It is also expected to announce within days the winner of a contract to knock down the old RAH, which becomes vacant after services shift to the new hospital from September 5. Current plans for the old RAH site include expanded botanic gardens, a hotel and private apartments.
Mr Mullighan said the Government planned to move material from the old RAH demolition site, including soil, to land that it already owns and that could include Gillman.
He said that would be unaffected by plans to sell much of the site, because the Government would continue holding land near Grand Trunkway Rd for its use. A private buyer could be contracted to take the old RAH waste, he said.
“Our intention is that material removed from that site, including soil, would be directed towards landholdings that Renewal SA owns,” Mr Mullighan said.
“If a landholding at Gillman were to pass out of Government hands, then that would preclude it from being used. I should qualify that by saying, unless that formed part of the arrangements under the transaction.
“We have a separate landholding at Gillman, near the east Grand Trunkway Road, which is our soil bank operation, so it could well be directed there.”
The Government has previously dismissed suggestions that the Gillman site should be used for landfill, saying other private offers to use the site for that purpose were inappropriate.
In 2015, Premier Jay Weatherill said groups that were taking the Government to court over the Gillman deal “don’t want to use this and build it up for development purposes, which is the proposition that we have, and the jobs proposition. They just want to dump some landfill on it”.
“The game here is to make sure that we develop this land so that we can create jobs,” he said.
However, business sources insist that using the Gillman site for Government waste could significantly increase its final sale value. Much of the former Multi Function Polis site is low-lying, and uncontaminated waste could be used to bring it up to a height ready for development.
It is understood the Government will not use Gillman for high-level or complex waste contained within the old RAH, including materials such as asbestos that need special processing.
Opposition transport spokesman David Pisoni said he believed the Government was dragging its feet on announcing a new Gillman plan due to embarrassment at how strong new bids had been.
“My understanding is that there have been some quite innovative offers for the site and that some of those are terrific job-creating opportunities,” he said.
“It surprises me that the Government aren’t giving certainty to those who have invested in the tender process.
“We are screaming out for jobs here in SA, and we don’t want to see any delays.
“If there are strong bids that can create economic opportunity, they should get on with it.”