Fears for Frankston unemployment as booming Carrum Downs industrial estate hits capacity
A proposal to open up part of Frankston’s Green Wedge to more factories has been shut down by the council to protect the environment. But with unemployment rates creeping past 25 per cent in some suburbs, the decision is under fire by some.
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A Frankston advocacy group fears the region’s unemployment rate will continue to plummet after a push to open Green Wedge space for more factories in Carrum Downs was shut down again.
The Committee for Greater Frankston slammed Frankston City Council’s decision not to investigate rezoning the green area, with youth unemployment hitting 13 per cent and just 31 residents out of 100 scoring jobs locally.
The call comes after the estate — near Thompsons Rd, Dandenong Valley Hwy, Boundary Rd and EastLink — reached capacity this week, with Nichols Crowder Real Estate Carrum Downs representatives expecting to sell off the remaining three blocks in the coming days.
Cr Colin Hampton labelled the council’s decision as “absolutely disgraceful” and feared more people would start travelling to Dandenong, Cranbourne and Melbourne to work.
The industrial area has doubled in size since 2015 and is home to innovative Australian companies including beverage giant Kombucha, gluten free food providers Roma Food Products, leading roof coverage specialists Nutech Paints and recycling plastics manufacturer Replas.
“(It was mentioned) the Green Wedge is the lungs of the earth … but there’s hardly any trees (in the Carrum Downs area), it’s just a few cows grazing,” Cr Hampton told the Leader.
“There will be more people on the road now driving to other work sites which will be worse for pollution (than factories).
“Frankston has the highest unemployment rate in the state … I cannot for the life of me understand (this decision).”
Committee for Greater Frankston CEO Ginevra Hosking told the Leader that hi-tech manufacturing businesses would be “forced” to leave the area because there was now no room for expansion and take jobs to growth areas including Cranbourne and Dandenong.
“(Council’s rejection) proves that planning for future jobs in Frankston is not being taken seriously enough … many of Carrum Downs’ growing hi-tech manufacturing businesses will be forced to leave and take their jobs with them,” she said.
“In some parts of Frankston, there’s one in four young people with no work and people over 55 also find it hard to get work.
“Without local jobs, good people in our community will continue to be marginalised.”
Cr Mayor Sandra Mayer said she was “pleased” councillors voted to preserve the environment after the group recently declared a climate state of emergency following Victoria’s bushfire crisis.
“This decision is aligned with our wider commitments to environmental protection, including declaring a climate change emergency, reducing carbon emissions and considering impacts on local flora and fauna in everything we do,” she said.
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Nichols Crowder Real Estate director Michael Crowder said the proposed rezoning would only make up approximately two per cent of Frankston’s green wedge.
The group has sold 37 lots since September last year and just three remain.
“There’s another 14,000 residents anticipated to live in Frankston in the next 10 years … where are they going work?”
Ms Hosking said businesses would simply “move on” and worried the area would soon mirror the region’s CBD, where one in five shopfronts and one in four office spaces remain empty.
“As what happened in Frankston’s CBD, businesses just quietly move on,” she said.
“We did not realise how important these innovative businesses and jobs were to the vibrancy and prosperity of our region until it was too late to save them.”
brittany.goldsmith@news.com.au