Lend Lease defends contamination claims

Lend Lease has defended claims by action groups that contamination at Barangaroo is not being adequately dealt with.

The developer giant maintains contamination at Barangaroo South will be cleaned up before the area is transformed into a new parkland and waterfront area.

Lend Lease’s Group Head of Development, David Hutton, said cleaning up the site is a priority.

“Safeguarding Sydney’s precious harbour and foreshore for future generations is a key priority for us,” he said.

Mr Hutton said Lend Lease is capable of appropriately dealing with contamination issues despite previous claims they “did not have experience in managing toxic sites.”

“It is important to note that the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water and the independent site auditor must be fully satisfied that the safest and best approach is being undertaken and that all remediation work on Barangaroo South is completed successfully,” he said.

But according to action groups, the process Lend Lease is using at the former Millers Point Gasworks site to remove toxins, is “untested” and “unproven”.

Court action has been launched in the NSW Land and Environmental Court by Australians for Sustainable Development (AfSD).

They are challenging the approval to excavate and relocate material at Barangaroo South and are calling on work to stop until further environmental assessments have been completed.

Mr Hutton said the redevelopment of Barangaroo into a “highly sustainable extension of Sydney’s CBD” will be of major benefit to the city.

“This is a unique opportunity that Sydney must seize,” he said.

“The city will get a double bonus: Barangaroo South will be cleaned and, once completed, Barangaroo South will be one of the greenest leisure, residential and business areas in the world.”

But Chairman of Clean Up Australia, Ian Kiernan, said Lend Lease must deliver exceptional standards of environmental protection for the Harbour.

Mr Kiernan recently resigned from the AfSD coalition and told City News he wanted Clean Up Australia to stand alone on the issue of contamination at Barangaroo.

“We would rather work in consultation with Lend Lease to make sure they deliver what they must deliver [and] that is, total clean up of the site,” he said.

Mr Kiernan told City News AfSD had made statements “he didn’t necessarily agree with” and did not want to be implicated politically with the group any further.

He said Clean Up Australia would continue to work with Lend Lease and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to ensure environmental issues are dealt with adequately.

“Our primary concern is the health of Sydney Harbour,” he said.

The issue of contamination at Barangaroo will appear before the Land and Environment Court on January 31.

Site establishment works are now underway and the first buildings are expected to be completed by 2014.

By Sophie Cousins