THE Regional Rail Link project has been rammed through without the necessary environmental planning, according to a state MP.
The Weekly last week reported that round-the-clock use of heavy machinery, truck traffic, noisy generators and bright lights were causing sleepless nights for Footscray residents during construction along the railway corridor.
Residents say the problem has been going on since Easter and is now affecting their health.
The project’s planning controls require a plan for managing environmental effects such as noise during construction and operation.
In June last year, Planning Minister Matthew Guy told Parliament the plan was required three months before major construction begins “and that timeline will be adhered to. I am expecting it fairly soon”. Under questioning in Parliament last month, Mr Guy said he had approved the environmental management plan although he couldn’t recall when.
He conceded that the plan was still incomplete, with a section on operational noise due at the end of the year.
But state leader of the Greens Greg Barber said it was ridiculous that an environmental plan was being worked on after the project was under way.
He suggested the plan was being created to fit the work rather than used to guide how work should be carried out.
“The project was only approved on the basis that an environmental management plan would become part of the rule book for construction,” he said.
Construction will intensify into the new year as the railway line is closed from December 28-30 and January 4-13.
The minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
