By Liam Mcnally
Broofield residents backed by Melton MP Steve McGhie have urged council to reconsider its position on the provision of a noise wall between Silverdale Estate and the Western Freeway.
Noise from the freeway is so loud residents of Silverdale Estate in Brookfield say life is becoming “unbearable” with traffic noise interrrupting their sleep and affecting their health.
In 2018, Melton council approved $2.1 million to fully fund a sound wall at Silverdale Estate in Brookfield.
A council meeting document from 2018 said that a noise assessment from the area demonstrated noise levels reaching 76 dB(A), above the VicRoads Traffic Noise Reduction Policy recommendation of 68 dB(A). It predicted noise levels will also increase over the next 20 years.
Further scoping works after the funding was budgeted revealed the cost of the sound wall project would actually amount to $6.3 million in order to comply with Department of Transport standards.
Last year, council moved to withdraw funding for the project and appeal to the state government for investment.
Madhusha Wijayarathne moved to Silverdale Estate in 2017, into a property that backs onto the freeway.
Mr Wijayarathne said residents are living in a very unhealthy environment.
“The noise coming from the freeway is unbearable,” he said.
“The population’s grown dramatically in past years and the number of vehicles travelling on the freeway has increased causing more noises and disturbances for us all. This is directly impacting our sleep and our health… We’re often forced to wash our clothes twice due to the odour of exhaust fumes on them.”
According to the council website when a new residential area abutting an existing freeway or main road is developed, it is usually the developer’s responsibility to construct a sound wall if one is needed.
However, when council issued a planning permit for the estate in 2001, a permit requirement was not imposed on the developer to provide noise mitigation.
Mr Wijayarathne believes council should have worked with the developer when Silverdale was being developed to ensure a fence was erected.
“By this breach and failure to fulfil an undertaking, [council has] lost the faith and trust of the affected ratepayers,” he said.
“We wish to work with the council and not have to hold rallies and demonstrations to be heard.”
Another nearby resident who asked not to be named said they felt “betrayed” when funding was pulled from the project.
“We can’t open windows, we can’t sit outside or talk on the phone outside. Sleeping is a big problem with exhaust from trucks,” they said.
“The way council has treated residents is disgusting.”
During a Member Statement before State Parliament at the end of August, Melton MP Steve McGhie called the situation “a major failure of council planning”.
“Last year council pulled that funding and reneged on their commitment to residents because they failed to act quickly enough before the cost to deliver the project increased,” he said.
“It is shocking that the developer of Silverdale estate was not held accountable for the provision of this necessary infrastructure.”
Mr McGhie said the level of noise for residents is “simply unbearable”.
“Once sitting on local resident Geoff Tweedie’s verandah I was astounded by the overwhelming level of noise. When we examined the issue from his neighbour’s residence it became apparent that even while standing in his backyard a metre apart we could not engage in conversation due to excessive noise,” he said.
“This situation is intolerable for the residents. It is even more of a slap in the face when they see developments going up around them being built with the necessary sound wall protection.
“It is time for the Melton City Council to reconsider their position on the provision of this sound wall and put the Silverdale estate ratepayers’ quality of life as a priority by building the sound wall.”
Council did not directly respond to questions from Star Weekly, but indicated it is not the responsible authority for building sound walls along freeways and it is committed to advocating for government investment for sound walls along freeway corridors in the municipality.
When ask to respond Mr McGhie said, “If the council believed it was the developer’s obligation, then maybe they should have got them to construct the sound wall and if the council didn’t think it was their responsibility, then why did they allocate $2.1 million towards the construction in 2020-2021?“
