The application covers works at 102 McBryde Street, the former Nufarm factory site in Melbourne's outer north, which backs onto Merri Creek. According to the application, the concrete slabs and shipping containers were placed on the land without prior council approval.
The site has been a source of community concern since the mid-1990s, when a clay cap was laid across it to prevent residual chemicals from spreading into the soil and surrounding area. Nufarm manufactured agricultural chemicals on the site between 1962 and 1971, including components of Agent Orange, the herbicide used by the US military during the Vietnam War, though the company never produced the complete product.
Community groups previously campaigned against redevelopment of the site, arguing that construction work could disturb the clay cap and allow toxic residue to leach out. They lost that campaign in 2018, when planning approval was granted for warehouses.
The new retrospective application to Merri-bek Council seeks to regularise the concrete slabs and shipping containers already present. The council will now assess the application, which is likely to face renewed opposition from local residents and environmental groups concerned about the integrity of the containment cap.