WIND turbine components, luxury boats and farm and construction machinery would be among the diverse imports stored on Dyke point under a Port of Newcastle proposal.
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The Department of Planning is presently assessing the application to use the existing 5,656 square metre shed on the site for cargo storage.
Built in 1943, the site operated as part of the State Dockyard until 1987. It has since been used for a variety of projects including a superyacht refit facility in the early 2000s. WesTrac lodged an application to use the site as a truck body fabrication facility in 2011.
The Port of Newcastle acquired the site in 2014 as part of its 98 year lease of the port.
The port has already taken delivery of several shipments of wind turbine components for use in renewable energy projects around the state. More shipments are due this year.
A statement of environmental effects submitted to the Department of Planning said the proposal would have a minimal impact on traffic in the immediate area.
“The proposal will extend the same uses currently undertaken on the exterior of the shed to the interior...It is not considered likely to add to the total amount of cargo moving through the port precinct.”
“Cargo will be transported to and from the site on trucks using the existing internal Port of Newcastle road network, destined for berths within the port or for sites via the road network,” the document said.
But a Newcastle City Council submission about the project noted that the statement of environmental effects did not include a traffic management plan.
“The statement of environment effects is silent on the number of on-site parking spaces available for use by staff and visitors of the future tenants of the shed,” the submission said.
“It is recommended clarification is sought from the applicant regarding this matter. The location of these parking spaces should also be included on the required development plans.”
