The Grocon administration site — convenient for some, but not for everyone.By Kath Gannaway
THE siting of a temporary construction office in Yarra Glen’s main street has frustrated local business and township groups.
The Shire of Yarra Ranges gave Grocon the go ahead to set up a portable administration site for their bushfire clean-up operation behind the Maternal and Child Health Centre.
But the Yarra Glen Township Group and the Chamber of Commerce say it is an eyesore which, with proper and timely consultation, could have been housed elsewhere.
The site includes four portable buildings including an office, lunch room, a shipping container for tools and a portable toilet.
Yarra Glen Township Group wrote to the shire requesting the buildings be relocated and suggesting a number of alternatives, including the Yarra Valley Racing Centre and empty shop-space in the new supermarket complex.
Shire CEO Glenn Patterson responded saying Grocon’s role in the bushfire clean up effort was an essential component in helping residents to rebuild and get on with their lives and needed to be expedited as quickly as possible.
He said the shire had looked at and rejected several alternative sites deeming the main street location as the most suitable.
“The site’s proximity to the Yarra Glen Recovery Centre and its convenient access for fire-affected residents from the town centre were key factors in the site selection,” he said.
Mr Patterson said the facilities would be on site for no longer than four or five months and that advanced trees would be used to screen the site buildings from the main street.
