Horsham rail yard study

Horsham rail-yard land earmarked as a potential site for a new multi-purpose indoor stadium will undergo an investigation to assess the environmental condition of the site.

Victrack, which owns the land, has announced the site will be the subject of environmental assessment works including groundwater and soil tests.

It has stressed the tests are only in response to Environmental Protection Authority requirements and not about future land use.

Victrack’s environment and sustainability manager Dr Lyndal Gibbs said Bluesphere Environmental staff would drill and install bores and collect soil and groundwater samples.

The Horsham rail yard, bordered to the north by Mill Street and Railway Avenue to the south, is leased to Australian Rail Track Corporation to support interstate rail-freight operations. Work will start in late April. Horsham Rural City Council technical services director John Martin said the council had been aware of the potential for contamination at the site.

“This has been factored into evaluation of the potential suitability of this site in the indoor sports stadium study,” he said.

“The investigations proposed here will help quantify the likely issues associated with this. It is important to note the type of works associated with an indoor sports stadium are generally a concrete slab or pavement for car parking, both of which would be able to proceed even if there are contamination issues with the site.”