Administrators give green light to Ellerton Drive Extension

About 120 people attended the meeting at Bicentennial Hall in Queanbeyan. 

There were 38 people registered to address the panel, just seven spoke in favour of the road.

QPRC administrator Tim Overall was joined by two administrators from Sydney,  Viv May and Richard Colley, described as " experienced local government officials", to make up the panel.

Issues of insufficient traffic studies and sustainable transport plans, threatened species and social impacts were brought up by many speakers against the project. 

Many spoke of preferring the development of Dunns Creek Road and the northern bypass of Queanbeyan from Pialligo Avenue through to the Kings Highway.  

Representative from Jerrabomberra made their opposition clear, saying traffic would be funneled through their suburb. 

One speaker said that it was "contemptuous treatment of Palerang ratepayers", who had never been consulted. 

Another called it "a developer's road"  for the benefit of the future Jumping Creek estate development. 

Other speakers cited possible alternatives, saying the EDE would cause traffic chaos at the Yass Road Roundabout.  

One said it was a "waste of public funds that won't deliver a benefit to the community".

Former Queanbeyan councillor Kenrick Winchester said it was "a huge decision without input from elected representatives".

"It will not be a democratic decision, it was no coincidence that the report was ready after the council was sacked," Mr Winchester said.

Former Palerang councillor Richard Graham said it was his "unwavering" belief that the residents of the former Palerang local government area, now a merged entity with Queanbeyan, had not been properly informed of the "very expensive project".

"As a result of my continuing ministry to that community, I am certain the vast majority of that community has no material understanding of the project, or their financial underwriting of it through their rates," Mr Graham said.

Mr Graham said QPRC should not be making decisions in the mindset which solely focused on Queanbeyan.

"Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council is not Queanbeyan City Council," Mr Graham said.

"Their operation plans are not the same, their financial management challenges are not the same, their ratepayers are not the same, despite some crossover," he said. 

Throughout the presentations, many speakers referred to the lack of democracy in the unelected panel making such a large financial decision when effectively in caretaker mode.

Several asked that the project be delayed until after the local government election in September, 2017. 

The project is reliant on $50 million in government funding and loans, with the interest to be paid by developer contributions. 

After presentations, the administrators asked a few minor questions about noise, landscaping and native animals before amending the recommendation slightly. 

Mr Overall summed up his thoughts and responses to many of the speaker allegations, refuting many claims. 

"The EDE has been demonstrated as essential to road network failure," Mr Overall said.

The recommendation was then carried amid cries from the public gallery of "you haven't listened". 

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QPRC Press Release

Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council agrees to proceed with Ellerton Drive Extension

A Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council Determination Panel comprising three experienced local government officials has tonight agreed to proceed with the Ellerton Drive Extension (EDE).

The Determination Panel was formally established with full delegation to determine the EDE project at an Extraordinary Meeting of Council held on 15 June 2016. The Panel made the decision based on the recommendations of Council and Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) staff and the Determination Report which had been given concurrence by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. The Determination Report considered the Review of Environmental Factors, Species Impact Statement and Addendum, Submissions Report, Noise Report and the Aboriginal, Cultural Heritage Archaeological Report.

Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council Administrator, Mr Tim Overall, along with independent Panel members Viv May and Richard Colley, made the decision at the Determination Panel Meeting at the Queanbeyan Bicentennial Hall tonight after hearing presentations from 40 interested stakeholders.

“The Ellerton Drive Extension has been subject to extensive consultation, studies, modelling, reviews and discussion and forms the key part of the overall road network strategy for Queanbeyan,” Mr Overall said.

“The environmental impacts of the Extension have been fully addressed and the amenity impacts on residents adjoining or living in the immediate proximity of the corridor, whether they be visual or noise related, will be addressed. Council will be committed to doing everything it can, consistent with NSW Government and RMS adopted guidelines and the criteria set out in the NSW Road Noise Policy, to ameliorate impacts on nearby residents.”

The decision paves the way for the progression of the 4.6km extension which will link east Queanbeyan at the current termination point of Ellerton Drive with Karabar at the intersection of Old Cooma Rd and Edwin Land Parkway. The Extension will be a single lane road with climbing lanes and will include a new bridge over the Queanbeyan River which will be above the 1 in 100 year flood level.

The benefits of the Extension include

alternate access around the Queanbeyan CBD

reduction of congestion on key Queanbeyan roads, especially around the CBD

reduction of the number of heavy vehicles travelling through the CBD

increasing road network capacity to address growing Googong population

a river crossing above the 1 in 100 year flood level

additional access/exit points for residents in the Fairlane estate and emergency access points for Greenleigh residents

The corridor for the Ellerton Drive Extension has been identified on Council maps, plans and strategies since the 1970s and has been supported to some degree by eight previous councils. In 2009, the Googong and Tralee Traffic study (2031) was adopted by Council and the adopted option included the Ellerton Drive Extension. Planning for the Extension received a boost in 2011 when the NSW Government provided $4m to Council to undertake planning and design work for the extension, a number of intersection upgrades and commence preliminary planning for Dunns Creek Rd.

The Googong and Tralee Traffic Study, and subsequent updates, have shown that Dunns Creek Road is not required to be built within in the study horizon (up to 2031) based on population forecasts. In September 2015, Council recognised the role Dunns Creek Road could play in Queanbeyan’s traffic network well into the future by selecting a preferred alignment and the identification of the road corridor.

The project will be financed by a combination of Government grants and loan funding. The NSW and Commonwealth Governments have provided $25m each in funding towards the construction of the road. With the road estimated to cost between $80m-$86m, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council last night approved obtaining a long term low interest loan for $36m to fund the remainder of the project. All of this loan, including interest, will be repaid via developer contributions, which will primarily come from the developers of Googong. 

Ellerton Drive Extension timeline

·         1974 - The Ellerton Drive Extension corridor is shown in the Queanbeyan Structure Plan.

·         1994 - The Ellerton Drive Extension corridor is shown in the Queanbeyan Structure Plan.

·         2004 - The Ellerton Drive Extension corridor is shown in the Queanbeyan Structure Plan.

·         September 2006 – NSW Planning Minister requests Council prepare a long-term residential and employment lands strategy to accommodate growth for up to 25 years. The Strategy includes the EDE, then known as the Edwin Land Parkway.

·         November 2006 – Residential and Economic Strategy 2031, which includes EDE, endorsed.

·         April 2007 – NSW Department of Planning reviews the strategy and requests Council develop a transport strategy to service new residential and employment lands.

·         2009 – Council engages Gabites Porter to conduct a fully-functioning integrated land use/transport model to analyse Queanbeyan’s traffic network

·         June 2009 – Council supports in principle the recommendations of the draft Queanbeyan Strategic Traffic Plan and places it on exhibition.

·         August 2009 – Council adopts the draft Queanbeyan Strategic Traffic Plan and resolves to rename it the Googong and Tralee Traffic Study (2031). In adopting the Study, Council accepted the recommendation of Option 05B which included a combination of the Ellerton Drive Extension, four-laning of Old Cooma Rd and various intersection improvements.

·         October and December 2013 – Council holds two Public Transport Forums.

·         September 2011 – NSW Government provides $4m package to allow design and environmental studies for the EDE, further stages of Old Cooma Rd, various intersection upgrades as well as seed funding Dunns Creek Rd corridor identification and related studies.

·         February 2013 – Council agreed to a list of priorities to raise with candidates for the Federal election. The number one priority was funding for the EDE.

·         August 28 2013 – Council resolved to proceed with detailed design of the EDE. Following consultation, the design would include gated emergency access at the end of Lonergan Dr, Greenleigh and a left in, left out and right in connection to Fairlane Estate.

·         December 2013 – Council accepts a tender for consultants to prepare detailed design.

·         June 2014 – Commonwealth and NSW Governments announce funding contributions of $25m each

·         December 2014 – The traffic model used in developing the Googong and Tralee Traffic Study is updated with current Census data, land release data and Queanbeyan and Canberra traffic counts. The updated study supports the findings of the previous study.

·         December 2014 – February 2015 – A range of documents relating to the EDE, including Review of Environmental Factors, Species Impact Statement and Preliminary Design are exhibited.

·         February 2015 – Commencement of noise workshops with affected residents.

·         February 2015 – Council resolves to hold an independently facilitated Community Forum on the EDE

·         April 2015 – Around 350 community members attend Community Forum on the EDE

·         December 2015 – Bitzios Consulting commissioned by RMS on behalf of Council to review the traffic modelling and reporting in the Googong and Tralee Traffic Study (2031). Review found that processes were consistent with standard strategic modelling practices and modelling appeared logical and consistent.

·         February 2016 – Species Impact Statement Addendum publicly exhibited

·         May 2016 – Independent consultant prepares Determination Report

·         June 2016 – NSW Office of Environment and Heritage provides concurrence for Determination Report

·         June 2016 – Determination Panel Meeting and Extraordinary Meeting held in Queanbeyan