The following letter was sent to me by Julianne Bell, Secretary of the Protectors of Public Lands - James
Dear Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. members and supporters,
Many thanks, firstly, for your support at our mini protest - "No Tunnels" - outside the Town Hall at 6 pm on Tuesday last. (Kevin Chamberlin our spokesperson was interviewed by Channel 7. The Age only had a short piece on the Planning Committee meeting see below. The Melbourne Times might feature it.)
Thanks also for your attendance at the Planning Committee hearing which followed at 6:30 pm. The agenda included the recommendations made previously by the City of Melbourne on the Eddington Report on the "East-West Link Needs Assessment" including support for extension of the Eastern Freeway in road tunnels through the inner city, Royal Park and Holland Park, Kensington.
Several hundred people attended one of the most extraordinary meetings ever witnessed at Melbourne Town Hall. Speakers mostly representing community groups from the inner suburbs were passionately opposed to the Eddington Report recommendations relating to construction of road tunnels. The crowd was very vocal in expressing its opposition. As Convenor of the Royal Park Protection Group I made a submission and asked that "Council review its support for the Eddington Road Tunnel and strenuously oppose the road tunnel, advocating instead expanded funding on public transport". See attached my submission which was of necessity short as we only had 3 minutes. (I have not attached the photos and aerial map with computer graphics by traffic expert, Dr Jan Scheurer, as they are probably too big to send out.) I am also attaching the letter submitted by Brian Walters SC, President of PPL VIC .
In a stunning turnaround Councillors unanimously rejected their earlier recommendation and voted against road tunnels.
In a stunning turnaround Councillors unanimously rejected their earlier recommendation and voted against road tunnels. See below the resolution passed by the Planning Committee.
The resolution in relation to Agenda Item 5.2, "City of Melbourne Submissions to State Government on the East West Link Needs Assessment (EWLNA) Recommendations", is as follows.
| 1. | That the Planning Committee recommends that Council resolve to: |
| 1.1. | abandon Council's support for an East West Road Tunnel; |
| 1.2. | oppose the use of parks for any works associated with an East West Road Tunnel; |
| 1.3. | a redrafted submission to the EWLNA being presented to the next Council meeting to reflect this change along with the prioritisation of all public transport initiatives including the Doncaster Rail; |
| 1.4. | request a further report to the Planning Committee on redrafting its Transport Policy to reflect these changes; and |
| 1.5. | state its strongest possible objection to any use of Holland Park or Royal Park or any other Park for the purposes of any road works or associated activities. |
Refer to the minutes of the meeting for more information - these are available from Council's website www.melbourne.vic.gov.au.
PPL VIC and individual organisations such as RPPG will be making formal submissions to the State Government about the road tunnels. Keep watching for notice of further action and events.
Regards,
Julianne Bell
Secretary
Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc.
PO Box 197
Parkville 3052
98184114 or 0408022408
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