By Corey Everitt
A bold new venture to create sustainable building materials from hemp in Vervale has to wait again, after the council deferred their decision to grant a permit to begin the production which has for years been stricken by planning authorities.
Cardinia Shire Council’s Town Planning Meeting on Monday 6 May saw councillors consider a permit for the Murphy Road property to use the land as Rural Industry, in the specific form of ‘mud brick manufacturing’.
Before the item, which council officers submitted to be approved, the council’s General Manager Liveable Communities, Lili Rosic informed the meeting that ‘additional information’ had been lodged which included three late objections to the proposal.
Rosic said the council officers now advised councillors to defer the matter to one of the later council meetings up to July.
Cr Cameron moved the alternate motion to defer which Cr Moore seconded. Cr Davies said the alternative motion was ‘not proper governance’ and said she would move the original motion to grant the permit in the event the alternate fails.
The motion to defer was carried with all councillors supporting, except for Cr Davies.
The Vervale property is facing multiple contests for approval and has been doing so for the last few years.
It is owned by Andrew and Renee Little who have proposed to manufacture hempcrete, a biocomposite building.
Hempcrete is made from the production of industrial hemp, one of the fastest growing plants. It’s pitched as a lightweight, durable and sustainable alternative to common materials.
Hemp is among the same class of the cannabis plant. Though in the same family, industrial hemp production is legal and lacks the chemical composition that causes the psychoactive component that cannabis is widely known for – which use, production and distribution is still prohibited in Australia outside of medical authorisation.
The Littles wish to produce hempcrete through their business Ecowall Cladding, this bid for a permit comes after years caught up with planning authorities.
In 2022, VCAT upheld a decision by the council to reject a permit for the outbuilding needed for the proposed production under the grounds that it was an industrial pursuit, not agricultural.
In the time since, the proposal has continued to pursue some authorisation with the council permitting a shed to be built for crop raising in July 2023.
In October 2023, the council granted amendments to the permit including the deletion of the crop raising condition.
These amendments are currently being contested in VCAT.
