SAVE RALPHS BAY, Download a pdf of this Media Release at: www.saveralphsbay.org/pdf/SRBMedia27Aug09.pdf
Despite a dark night, showers and a cold, biting wind, concerned community members and Labor MHA Ross Butler attended a Public Meeting held by Save Ralphs Bay Inc. at Lauderdale Hall last night.
As powerful gusts blasted the hall, several of the speakers commented on the absurdity of the Walker Corporation’s plan to locate building blocks for 550 dwellings in Ralphs Bay, a wild location much appreciated by Tasmanian windsurfers.
Jess Feehely, Principal Lawyer at the Environmental Defenders Office, outlined the many issues covered in the recent Resource Planning and Development Commission (RPDC) hearings. She said the development was expected to result in 4900 additional traffic movements daily by 2018. The Walker Corporation’s plans now include three new roundabouts along the proposed canal estate strip in Lauderdale, with the possibility of right turns out of Ringwood Road being prohibited.
Local resident Merinda Welsford, who made a representation to the RPDC hearings, spoke of the Rifle Range development in Williamstown near Melbourne, whose impacts made her leave Victoria to seek a peaceful new home in Sandford.
“We were promised one storey houses but the reality was huge houses three and four storeys high. The development totally changed the whole area and the traffic volumes increased dramatically. There was a phenomenal difference to the whole character of the area. There were huge impacts from noise and trucks for years, with no escape.”
South Arm resident Jim Orpe spoke eloquently on the subject of custodianship. “We inherit treasures of the environment and knowledge of the past, from previous generations. We must use them wisely, to meet the needs of the day, and pass them on to future generations. There is no need for us to use Ralphs Bay, but there is an overriding need to pass it on to future generations to enjoy, as we have done. In all the time I sat in on the RPDC hearings, I never heard a sensible argument as to why the development should go ahead.”
Dr. Eric Woehler of Birds Tasmania said the Walker Corporation experts and legal team had admitted the proposed development was located at a site of international significance for the pied oystercatcher, and had also admitted its studies failed to consider some of the migratory bird species at Ralphs Bay.
Environmental consultant Axel von Krusenstierna made a representation to the RPDC hearings on the subject of the Walker Corporation’s proposed Environmental Management Plan and offsets. “I was not very impressed with what they had put forward in the Draft Integrated Impact Statement. I considered it to be substandard.”
“If this proposal gets up, it’s a green light to any development that seeks to rape and pillage our coastal environment”, said Bob Holderness-Roddam, who had travelled to the meeting from Austens Ferry. Mr.
Holderness-Roddam, a keen birdwatcher, made a representation to the recent hearings.
One local resident asked Ross Butler MHA if Premier David Bartlett was aware of the strength of local opposition to the proposed development, saying, “I’ve always voted Labor, but I feel betrayed.” Mr. Butler, who is a staunch opponent of the canal estate, said he had made his feelings clear in PLP meetings on a number of occasions.
Ashley McQueen moved to Lauderdale a few years ago, and made a representation to the RPDC because of his strong concerns about the impacts of the proposed development on the health and wellbeing of children at Lauderdale Primary School, and on the sense of community in Lauderdale.
Lauderdale GP, Dr. John Saul, another representor at the recent hearings, said he was concerned about potential health impacts of the development, including Ross River Fever, windborne pollutants, noise pollution, psychological issues and emergency vehicle access.
— Save Ralphs Bay Inc. : www.SaveRalphsBay.org —
