The City of Greater Geelong has voted to support in principle the rezoning of land at 230 Stacey's Road, Lara, to allow for the expansion of the existing Chemring   Australia manufacturing and distribution facility.

Cr Rod Macdonald, portfolio holder for planning, said the proposal had been called in by the Minister for Planning, Justin Madden, and approval for the rezoning could be fast-tracked by a Ministerial amendment.

Cr Macdonald said Chemring Australia, formerly Pains Wessex, has operated a manufacturing and distribution facility at its current site since 1997, and is a leading supplier of air and naval counter-measures to the Australian Defence Force.

These include military pyrotechnics such as rescue flares and smokescreen devices.

"The company's proposed expansion will include the construction of new office buildings and the establishment of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility," Cr Macdonald said.

He said the rezoning was required because the former Rural Zone designation had been replaced with a new Farming Zone across the State.

Under the new Farming Zone, development of an existing facility such as that proposed by Chemring requires a rezoning of the site to Special Use Zone.

Cr Tony Ansett, who represents Windermere Ward, said the expansion of the facility would be within the current site boundaries, and would generate a substantial number of new jobs for the area.

He said Chemring's Stacey's Road site was a perfect location for the facility, and its expansion was excellent news for Lara.

"A public open day was held at the facility earlier this month and the expansion proposal has been through all the required council processes," Cr Ansett said.