Developer backtracks on demolition of Sunshine grain silos

Sunshine’s famous silos have been saved from demolition, but a real estate agent says the developer could lose if the site’s not razed.

Sunshine’s grain silos at 2 Wright St are a popular local landmark. Picture: Google Maps

Sunshine’s famous grain silos have been saved from the wrecking ball after a developer flagged plans to tear down the popular landmark.

Brimbank Council convened a special meeting for last Thursday night, January 14, after an application for demolition was lodged earlier in the month to bulldoze them.

The application for 2 Wright St, Sunshine, was suddenly withdrawn by the developer on January 13 after the council raised heritage concerns about the proposal.

In a report prepared for Thursday night’s meeting, officers recommended the council seek interim heritage protection for the site from Minister for Planning Richard Wynne as a result of the now withdrawn demolition application.

The site is located in a residential area but zoned for industrial use.

The application, seen by the Leader but which was not publicly available, sought demolition of the silos and related buildings and described them as a safety risk and a hub for vandals.

“Removal of obsolete steel silos and overhead conveyor. No longer operational or fit for purpose. (They) represent a significant safety hazard to trespassers and vandals frequenting the site despite high-security presence,” the application notes.

The developer’s details were redacted.

Built between the late 1960s and 70s, the silos were sold by their previous owner GrainCorp to a mystery developer in November for an undisclosed sum.

Sunshine real estate agent Steven Tabban of Create Real Estate said heritage properties were one of the toughest things developers had to deal with.

The developer of the John Darling & Son Flour Mill in nearby Albion had chosen to retain much of the original mill to win community approval to develop the site, he said.

But in the silos’ case, Mr Tabban said trying to retain the original structure could result in big losses for the developer.

“You have two sides of the community. There is one side who wants everything to keep the heritage feel to the area and retain the history, and the younger side who is in favour of progress at any cost,” Mr Tabban told the Leader on Friday.

An aerial view of the Sunshine grain silo site. Picture: Google Maps

“Because of the way the silos work (there’s) no way to build around them without leaving massive clearance. They are more likely to use them as is, which means not a lot of purpose for them. (The) developers will lose a lot of value on pricing.”

In a statement released by the council, Brimbank Mayor Ranka Rasic said the silos were a significant urban landmark.

Efforts by the council last year to assess the silos’ heritage significance so they could be protected were hampered by COVID-19 because they’d been unable to get access to required public documents, she said.

“While this was underway, the Sunshine silos site was sold and concerns about its potential demolition started to arise in the community,” Cr Rasic said.

“The completion of the preliminary heritage assessment and subsequent application to (the) council for demolition has become the trigger for requesting the interim heritage overlay.”

Earlier appeals to Mr Wynne in September to intervene and assist with the site’s protection failed to garner a response, according to the council’s statement.

Brimbank Council’s director of city development Kelvin Walsh said council staff had spoken with the silos’ developer who he said was keen to find a mutually agreeable solution for the site.

“Council officers had a very productive discussion with the owner’s representatives and have agreed to work together to ensure that all community and planning issues can be considered in designing a robust development vision for such an important site,” Mr Walsh said.

Owned and operated by the Grain Elevators Board, the Wright St site initially had 20 silos when it was built in 1965.

Ten new silos and a shed were added in subsequent years, which provided a total of 64,000 tonnes of storage space. The silos are no longer in use.

Nine councillors voted at Thursday night’s meeting to seek interim heritage protection for the silos. Two councillors were absent.

A spokesperson for Mr Wynne’s office said the council’s interim heritage protection request was being assessed and a decision would be made in due course.