Fyshwick land values will take a one-off 15 per cent reduction up to 500 metres from any new large scale waste facility, an independent economic impact assessment has found.
The Delos Delta study found the area would also suffer a persistent 15 per cent reduction in face rents for the following five years given the attraction of Fyshwick as a mixed-use commercial hub.
The Fyshwick Business Association commissioned the report to assess the impact of large scale waste facilities in the Fyshwick precinct. A copy of the full report is available here.
The study concludes that negative impacts at Fyshwick outweigh impacts at Hume in every category and that in nominal terms Hume is a better location to the tune of $26.3 million (net present value) compared to Fyshwick.
President of the Fyshwick Business Association, Rob Evans, said the association invested in an independent expert economic impact assessment to better understand the effect of new large scale waste facilities in the ACT.
“The evidence in this report shows that the ACT will be demonstrably better off if such facilities are located in Hume rather than Fyshwick, regardless of what large scale waste proposal it is,” Mr Evans said.
“It is loud and clear to us that the planning regime needs to change.
“We all know the government’s stated intention is that such waste facilities be co-located in Hume, but the current planning laws don’t support this.
“Fundamental change needs to be made by the government to deliver a legal framework which prevents any future proposals seeking to locate in Fyshwick, because right now there is nothing to stop them.
“We’ve been calling for a Master Plan for Fyshwick for precisely that reason. And now there is more evidence that this is needed.”
Managing Director of Delos Delta, Mr Brook Dixon, said the rapid economic impact assessment specifically compared the locations of Fyshwick versus Hume.
“The goal was to understand which location would deliver a better economic outcome for the ACT as a whole.
“While the analysis focuses on a subset of the total economic impacts, our findings are clear: Hume is a better location for large-scale waste recycling activities.
“Our report highlights that Fyshwick is moving away from its traditional industrial base towards a mixed-use commercial environment. Accordingly, any large-scale waste recycling facility in Fyshwick would have a significant negative impact, on traffic and property values in particular, with flow on impacts to government revenue, rental returns and employment, which are the focus of our analysis.
“Overall, there appear to be benefits for establishing new, innovative waste management processes. If a facility of this type does proceed in the ACT, Hume should be the preferred location, from both an economic and a planning perspective.”
24 January 2021