A NEW dairy factory for Camperdown moved a step closer this week when a planning permit application was lodged with Corangamite Shire Council.
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Camperdown Dairy International has lodged plans to build a new $120 million processing plant at the former Bonlac site on Manifold Street.
The company is a new player in the dairy sector and plans to target export powder markets, including infant formula, with an initial throughput of 100 million litres of milk annually.
Camperdown Dairy International is backed by agricultural investment management company, the Eat Group, and mining services company MCG Group.
The factory will be part of a paddock-to-plate business model in which the company will own farms that supply the factory as well as the distribution chain. The company is believed to have already bought some farms in the region.
The factory site is already home to unrelated Camperdown Dairy Company, which produces fresh milk, butter and yoghurt in one of the old factory buildings.
Camperdown Dairy Company has told The Standard its continuing presence at the site will be accommodated by the new owners.
Under the plans, the original facade of the former cheese and butter factory will be retained and restored, while the former manager’s residence, a timber building with local heritage value, will be relocated within the site. The chimney will be knocked down.
Corangamite Shire Council mayor Chris O’Connor said the chimney was a significant structure but in quite poor condition.
“It would require a significant buffer for safety reasons and would not fit in with the new use of the site,” Cr O’Connor said.
The company will also demolish the existing drying tower and replace it with an new state-of-the-art plant.
The plan details two stages of development and will allow for the site to be operated up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week with all large vehicle movements being completed directly from the highway.
The application details noise barriers and a variety of perimeter treatments to minimise local disturbance.
Cr O’Connor said lodging of the application was positive news for the shire, promising 30 to 50 new jobs for the town.
“It will provide a boost to the local economy and further the shire’s reputation as one of the premier areas for dairy production in the country,” Cr O’Connor said.
He expected the planning permit to be processed at next month’s council meeting.
“They have put a lot of work into this and obviously considered what we would like to see.”
