Tribunal puts final seal on road dispute

By Elizabeth Lillis
THE Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has settled a dispute between Cardinia Shire and residents over the construction and sealing of 2.4km of urban streets in Emerald.
The tribunal upheld its decision on the Westland Road Group of Streets Special Charge Scheme on 19 February.
The council will now issue tenders for $1.8 million to be spent on road, footpaths and drainage.
The area covered by the scheme includes Westlands Road from Memorial Drive to Boundary Road West, Memorial Avenue, Benson Street, Russell Street, Bayview Road, Woodlands Road and Boundary Road West in Emerald.
The decision follows a number of years of controversy about the scheme.
Ranges Ward councillor Ed Chatwin said the council undertook an extensive consultation process over the past four years and that almost twothirds of the submissions received from residents were in favour of the scheme.
Memorial Avenue resident John Willington said he was happy the road works were to be done but he was unhappy with the way the cost had been divided among residents, with the charge for his street higher than expected.
Mr Willington said he felt his street had become a through road with a lot of nonlocal traffic using it.
“I acted as spokesperson for residents on my street and during all the meetings and consultation it was acknowledged we should have a better deal because of the use of the street, but we haven’t got it,” he said.
Mr Willington said he would be charged $7900 for his contribution to the scheme.
Ranges Ward councillor Graeme Legge said the role each road played in the local network was taken into account in calculating the council’s contribution.
Cr Legge said the council would contribute more than $654,000 to the works, 35 per cent of the total cost, with the remainder being contributed by landowners in the streets included in the proposal.
The formal report to the council said the typical charge for a property in the scheme would be $7948. Maximum contributions for individual property owners have been limited to $12,000.
The 22 units at 11 Westlands Road, occupied predominantly by pensioners and retirees, will be charged $1000 each.
Woodlands Road residents Peter Nordin said he was not happy the scheme was being introduced and had opposed it throughout the consultation.
Mr Nordin, a war service pensioner, said he would need to take out a loan to cover the $12,000 charge allocated to his property.
“There are a lot of pensioners, retirees and people with only one income who will have to get loans,” he said.
Mr Nordin said he also felt much of the works, including speed humps, was “over the top”.
Proposed works include lowprofile kerb and channel, pavement and seal, associated underground drainage and connecting footpaths.