City of Newcastle is chasing millions of dollars in clean-up costs after a spectacular warehouse fire in Wickham this year exposed the neighbourhood to asbestos.
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The council says it racked up a $2.5 million bill cleaning up what one source described as a "cursed" site.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority says it has been reimbursed $255,000 for its role in the clean-up, but the Newcastle Herald has been told other government agencies could be owed millions as well.
The land's owner, Investec Australia Finance, has put the huge three-hectare site on the market.
The investment firm, which has connections to South Africa and the United Kingdom, took over the site when a former owner, Asset Strata Investment, went into administration in 2014.
Investec lodged plans for a huge apartment complex on the site, but the Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel refused the development application after a consultant's report found the proposed units were too close to the adjacent Ampol fuel depot.
The consultant said the risk of a fatal "vapour cloud explosion" exceeded Department of Planning hazard thresholds.
Two of the wool warehouses on the site burned down in March, leaving government agencies with a complicated clean-up of 687 houses. The council cleaned up nearby footpaths and parks.
The council wrote to Investec's lawyers in April signalling it would ask the company to reimburse its costs under a section of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act which requires the managers or controllers of land to pay reasonable costs incurred by a public authority in cleaning up pollution.
The council has lodged a compliance cost notice which ensures the outstanding amount must be paid before the property is sold.
The Herald understands Investec has not disputed its liability for the clean-up costs with the council.
A council spokesperson said on Monday that the EPA, Public Works Advisory, SafeWork NSW and NSW Health had been involved in the clean-up.
It is unclear if the land and the one remaining four-storey woolstore on the site will fetch a high enough price to cover the costs owed to the council and any agencies still owed money.
Property agents are marketing the Annie Street site as the "Wickham Woolstore Business Park", a "significant land holding ... less than 2km from the Newcastle CBD".
Most of the site is zoned for light industrial purposes.
Its proximity to the fuel depot appears to have killed off any hope of it being redeveloped for housing.
The Newcastle Herald attempted to contact Investec for comment.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
