Gympie council defends Sun-Chem move despite zone clash
Gympie council has defended its decision to allow a chemical cleaning business to relocate close to homes and a childcare centre.
Gympie
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Gympie Regional Council says it is investigating whether chemicals were being stored incorrectly following a devastating blaze which gutted a cleaning business and left nearby residents feeling sick.
The home of 30-year-old business Sun-Chem was destroyed in a “suspicious” inferno in the early hours of Sunday November 20, on Tozer Park Road.
Residents were told to keep their windows and doors shut as fireys battled for three hours to extinguish the blaze and a nearby childcare centre was forced to temporarily shut following the blaze.
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No arrests have been made or charges laid as of time of publication.
In the wake of the incident residents have reported ongoing health concerns, including chest infection-like symptoms, with questions about why the business was allowed to move near a residential area in 2020.
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On Wednesday a council spokeswoman defended the decision, saying the application – which had identified a clash with the planning scheme – had been rigorously vetted.
“The application went through the normal rigorous planning assessment process and based on all of the material submitted, in addition to the imposition of recommended conditions, was deemed fit for approval,” she said.
The staff report presented at the September 2020 meeting said the proposal was “not entirely consistent” with the area’s zoning but the historical use of the land for low impact industry, and the ability to impose conditions, were among other “relevant matters that warrant approval”.
The application drew three objections, which raised concerns about the risk of a fire, the volume of chemicals on site, and its proximity to the childcare centre.
One objection to the proposal said a fire would be “catastrophic … bearing in mind the toxicity of the materials … stored”.
The council said a fire risk assessment report submitted as part of the application said “if managed correctly, these risks should be no more damaging to surrounding properties than a fire in a typical industrial building”.
More than two dozen conditions were imposed as part of the application, including three aimed at mitigating fire risk.
These included site operations adhering to the national standard for handling and storing flammable liquids, those liquids being stored in a lockable and vented shipping container, and the installation of smoke detectors and a “back to base” alarm and sprinkler system.
The latter two conditions were required “prior to the commencement of use” of the manufacturing shed.
The council spokeswoman said no complaints had been lodged about the business but “(the) council had not confirmed the manufacturing shed was fitted with adequate smoke detectors, ‘back to base’ alarm system/sprinkler systems”.
She said the possibility of chemicals being stored incorrectly “is currently being investigated” given the impact of the fire.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Sun-Chem.
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