By Cam Lucadou-Wells
RESIDENTS opposed to a planned re-sited roundabout at the entrance of the up-market Berwick Springs estate have vowed to channel their inner Darryl Kerrigan from The Castle.
Up to 80 residents swarmed on a Casey council meeting on 15 November, incensed that Casey council had failed to consult with them on the Greaves Road roundabout’s new site.
The project will cause the displacement of the estate’s bluestone wall entrance and require relandscaping and removal of mature trees.
Resident Aldonio Ferreira said he and others would fight against “this injustice”.
“Our fight is a little like that of Darryl Karrigan in the movie The Castle.
“Common sense is on our side, and we’ll do all we can to make it prevail.
“I am reasonably optimistic that we’ll be able to push the roundabout back to where it belongs; I am not even entertaining plan B.”
The residents formed a Facebook group “Save Berwick Springs Promenade estate”, mobilised a 421-signature petition to halt the proposed works and held a 100-strong public protest in late October.
Residents say they will lobby Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley to halt the roundabout works, scheduled to start within months.
The widened roundabout will help cater for increased traffic from Moremac Property Group’s proposed Alira housing estate to the north.
The project, as part of the Berwick Waterways Precinct Structure Plan, was managed by the then Metropolitan Planning Authority – which was also responsible for public consultation.
The plan was finalised by the then state Planning Minister Matthew Guy on 4 November 2014.
Resident Michael Ball said the council had failed to communicate with residents, even though it had been consulted along with VicRoads and Melbourne Water on the plan in 2014.
“If they’d talked to residents at the start, we wouldn’t be at this point today,” he said.
During the consultation, the council didn’t lobby against the roundabout’s new site, about 30 metres south of the existing location, Mr Ball said.
It had argued instead for funding to reinstate the estate’s entry features.
Mr Ball acknowledged Casey had come up with “the best design solution” for the proposed new entrance.
“They’re telling us it’s the point of no return for us, but it’s through their neglect and lack of action.”
On 15 November, Casey Council resolved to “back” Berwick Springs residents’ concerns, mayor Sam Aziz said.
The council would write to Planning Minister Richard Wynne, VicRoads, Melbourne Water and Moremac to request the roundabout being located further north to “avoid impacts upon the much-loved bluestone entry feature”.
“I would like to assure residents that if it is determined not practicable to relocate the roundabout, council is committed to ensuring full reinstatement of the estate entry features at an equivalent or superior standard nearby,” Cr Aziz said.
“We did consult but there’s a heap of other agencies that should have consulted.”
