The Community has had ENOUGH!

WestConnex is taking over the Inner West by storm and local communities have had enough! WestConnex claim to be growing the city of Sydney, using underground tunnels and new roads in order to keep Sydney moving. However, as good as this sounds for outsiders, the local community of Haberfield, Five Dock, Ashfield and Concord are feeling the disruptions and chaos more than any other suburb in Sydney. The local community within the Inner West Council area are opposed to this level of construction taking place in their backyards. According to the local council, surveys have reported that 57% of residents in these areas are against the constructions and have taken to protesting to have their voices heard and see some community change. The residents are taking action and you can too! However, WestConnex aren’t budging, while having the green light from the State Government, local government and the surrounding communities are outraged by the way this level of infrastructure has taken over their roads, caused immense traffic congestion and has ripped up and knocked down many heritage houses from the ‘Garden Suburb’, which is Haberfield.

A submission on behalf of the Haberfield Association on WestConnex Stage 3 EIS — Planning Application SSI 7485, to the Department of Planning and Environment, states Haberfield’s objections for the project’s construction, outlining their concerns for the rejection of the new infrastructure, including issues relating to ‘Dust, Vibration, Noise, Road closures, Pedestrian detours, Traffic detours, Road traffic controllers, Smells, Fumes from surface generators, trucks and additional vehicles, Utility relocations, Out of Hours Work’. (Haberfield Submission, 2017)

The suburb’s persona is rapidly changing every week with new construction being completed and new stages of the project starting. Residents of the local community have said that they have endured enough already. The ‘Garden Suburb’ has now been visually distorted with the constant defacing of the area due to the loss of vegetation, loss of heritage and historic areas and houses being demolished, without hesitation. (Haberfield Submission, 2017)

The community are particularly affected through the impact of noise from construction, throughout the night as work continues after hours. Residents are being kept awake and are experiencing sleep disturbances over many nights and this has now been an issue for many years since construction commenced. Some residents are very unlucky that they are in the middle of two construction zones, therefore being hit with twice the amount of noise and twice the amount of disturbances within their daily routine, which definitely creates frustration and anger in the minds of residents.

These profound impacts on the residents are causing an uproar and dissatisfaction in the way that WestConnex are not listening and acknowledging that this area is beloved in the Inner West and residents are losing their homes and are being forced out of their beloved homes and being made to re-locate to an alternative neighbourhood as they can no longer afford a similar house in the same suburb. This forced action left residents of the Haberfield and Concord area extremely uneasy and distressed, as they needed to find accommodation for their families in a short amount of time.

One resident that has requested to remain anonymous, has claimed that “she was lucky her home wasn’t demolished, however an area that prides itself on location and aesthetic appeal is now a construction zone, creating unwanted traffic and disruption.”

Conversely, another local resident of the Five Dock area was interviewed and indicated that “she is happy with the construction of the project as she feels that once completed, it will provide many benefits to Sydney, increase accessibility and decrease the amount of congestion on local roads.” However this resident is not located in close proximity to all the chaos, hence not feeling too affected by the constant construction disruption and the associated noise and traffic impacts.

Many closely located residents are unhappy with the lack of communication from the state government, and have been making their feelings known by participating in protests and submitting statements and complaints to local community and council groups. This project has negatively impacted the local community, even though the final result will hopefully benefit Sydney. The local communities in the initial stages have been extremely disturbed and disadvantaged in the way they have been living in such close proximity to the construction, and very close to the chaos. Road closures, detours and night work have caused a negative effect on the local community and they are calling for change.

So what can you do? Join in local community meetings, sign petitions and make your voice and opinions heard. You are entitled to voice your opinion, have a say and let the council and community know you’re unhappy with projects and processes undertaken that is going to affect your home, life and potentially your family with the amount of air pollution and dust. For more information and access to reports and council submissions, visit your council website and attend local meetings.

References

Haberfield Association Submission on Westconnex Stage 3 EIS, 16 October 2017, Inner west council website Retrieved from: file:///Users/macintosh/Downloads/Haberfield%20Association%20WestConnex%20Stage%203%20EIS%20Submission.pdf Accessed: 6 June 2018

Image, WestConnex, what could go wrong? [Australian Financial Review] retrieved from: http://www.afr.com/business/infrastructure/roads/westconnex-what-could-go-wrong-20160919-grjtlo Accessed: 5 June 2018

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