The state’s environmental watchdog and a company associated with the prominent Buxton property empire have been slammed for failing to properly manage a “grossly overfilled” tip in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

The Brooklyn tip on Bunting Road, just 10 kilometres from the CBD and about 400 metres from nearby homes in Altona North, has been overfilled by up to 30 metres and is plagued with “hotspots”, a damning judgement from Victoria’s planning tribunal says.

The Brooklyn tip on Bunting Roadhas been overfilled by up to 30 metres and is plagued with hotspots.

The tribunal took aim at the Environment Protection Authority saying their “conduct to date in relation to this landfill” gave little reassurance they were “providing environmentally appropriate management.”

Tip hotspots are chemical reactions deep in waste landfill that emit noxious smells and often cause fires.