Banyule City Council, City of Borondara and Whitehorse City Council have made a joint submission to the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) for the North East Link project. In the submission, we highlight the unacceptable risks of the North East Link and how it will greatly impact open space, homes and businesses, local roads and community facilities.

Read the story from the Sunday Age 16 June 2019.

The North East Link is being assessed by the Australian Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation 1999 Act (EPBC Act). The EPBC Act is the Australian Government’s environmental legislation. It provides a legal framework to protect and manage important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places.

A draft Public Environment Report (PER) was available in April 2019 for public comment. The PER includes information on how the project could affect threatened species and communities, migratory species and the environment during construction and operation and how these impacts will be managed.

Council has made a submission to the PER for the North East Link. Please note that due to its large file size, the submission component Annexure F - KPMG/ARUP/#3 Report is only available on request. The final PER will be published in mid-late 2019, with a decision expected in late 2019.

We engaged an international tunneling expert to explore options of extending the tunnel of North East Link to replace an open trench section to reduce the impact of the project on the Banyule community. The tunneling expert report shows a range of benefits for the community including reducing property acquisition, minimising the impact to residents, businesses, and parklands. A summary of the report and a map can be seen here.

You can read the Council Report, Minutes and Resolution from the Council Meeting on Monday 29 April.

An important step in the North East Link project was the release of a North East Link Environment Effects Statement (EES) Report developed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). This report looks at the possible impacts of the construction of the North East Link. You can view a hard copy or grab electronic copies (on USB) of the EES Report from our Customer Service Centre in Greensborough or Rosanna Library. The report is also available on the North East Link website.

The EES report was released on 10 April 2019. Following that the public were able to make submissions to the North East Link EES Independent Panel Hearing. Submissions closed on the 7 June 2019.

To help our community prepare for the EES submission process, we ran a community forum on Wednesday 27 March. The following presentations can assist you in understanding the EES process.

Council presentation - identifies the key issues Council will be including in its submission

DELWP presentation - provides an overview of the EES process. More information is available on the DELWP website.

Maddocks presentation - provides tips and suggestions on preparing an effective submission

Thanks to everyone that contributed to Council's submission or made an independent submission.

Make your own submission

Submissions are now closed. Together our submissions will help reinforce our needs and priorities.

• All submissions can be viewed at Engage Victoria from 14 June 2019.

The North East Link Authority has been appointed by the Victorian Government to deliver the North East Link, Victoria's biggest transport infrastructure project. The North East Link will run from the M80 through Banyule, join the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen, meet the EastLink at Ringwood, and bring dramatic changes to Banyule.

Latest plans can be viewed online.

The recent alternate design for Watsonia station and shops can be viewed below.

Our position

Council is opposed to the North East Link through Banyule as it does not provide the best transport outcome for the future needs of Melbourne. As the state government has now decided to implement this route, Council will continue to advocate for changes to protect our natural environment, preserve our local neighbourhoods, avoid dividing our community and provide for real solutions to the transport issues in the north.

Adopted 25 February 2019

Background

Council has long recognised the need for the Metropolitan Ring Road to be completed so it can provide a direct link from the Greensborough bypass to Ringwood and ease increasing congestion on Banyule roads. Currently, freight and commuter traffic use Rosanna Road and Greensborough Highway to connect with northern, western and south eastern suburbs.

Completing the Ring Road is a key priority in Council’s transport strategy, the Banyule Integrated Transport Plan.