Pemberton Mill demolition plans confirmed, with knockdown scheduled for April 16

Pemberton Mill’s demolition is all but confirmed, with Manjimup Shire president Donelle Buegge saying the demolition is now set to take place after the Easter long weekend. The asbestos-ridden mill will officially be demolished after being postponed twice, after being destroyed in a fire during the Christmas period in 2022, with prior demolition dates being set for July and December 2023. Ms Buegge said after meeting with Thuroona, the contractor hired by Parkside, along with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, pre-demolition works will commence on April 8, with the official demolition being confirmed for the week after. “We met with DPLH and Thuroona and the pre-works for the demolition will begin on April 8, and the demolition will begin on April 16,” she said. “It’s good because it will be after Easter, and near the end of the school holidays, so it should give Pemberton a reprieve.” She also said consultations will be done to residents and businesses nearby the site area to inform them and also allow questions and concerns they may have to be answered. “The works will go for three months and they will be doing door-to-door consultations from April 8, and door-knocking the surrounding houses and businesses to let them know what’s going on. “We have strongly suggested that they have an in-person presence in Pemberton to answer the questions and can come back to us on that.” Ms Buegge said she had “a lot of faith” in Parkside’s appointed contractor, given their experience in asbestos removal, and said there will be measures for dust suppression and air control. “I have a lot of faith in Thuroona, and asbestos removal is their specialty, as they’ve done demolitions in the northern region,” she said. “They will be doing daily monitoring, with dust and air control, and have things in place to make sure there’s dust suppression, and they’ll have a mist cannon and be using water to keep the dust down. “It will be a staged demolition, so they’ll be doing it in small stages to keep the contamination kept within the areas. “They’ve consulted with the bakery and will be keeping in contact with the bakery, as they are the closest business to the site.” A chimney on the site will be exempt from the demolition process, with Ms Buegge saying the chimney held historical significance and had heritage status. “The chimney down there has heritage status, and will have a fifteen-metre exclusion zone, which means it will not be touched,” she said. “It is very important, given that it was built by people down here, and it’s a landmark and important that we make sure it’s safe.” The shire government will continue to correspond with both Parkside and the State and Federal governments, and hopes to investigate the future of the mill site after the demolition. “We are still in talks with Parkside, and have engaged with the State and Federal Government,” Ms Buegge said. “When Jane Kelsbie (member for Warren-Blackwood) and Jackie Jarvis (South West MLC and Minister for Forestry) came down, we engaged with them to take this a little bit further, and investigate Parkside’s future plans with the site.” “Which will give us some scope of where we can utilise the site, if we can utilise the site and whether that site will be cleaned up any further.” A department spokesperson said Parkside would be responsible for all the demolition of the infrastructure that sits on the site, as the lessee of the site. They also said the DPLH will continue to support the process between Parkside and the Shire of Manjimup regarding the demolition and removal works, noting Parkside’s appointment of Thuroona to undertake the works.