More than 100 residents opposed to a third runway at Melbourne Airport have voted in a committee dedicated to stopping the airport’s expansion.
The eight-member committee was formalised at a Hume Residents Airport Action Group meeting in Gladstone Park on October 31.
Residents from Gladstone Park, West Meadows and Tullamarine packed Gladstone Park Senior Citizens Centre to voice their opposition to a proposed east-west- oriented runway at Melbourne Airport, as identified in the airport’s growth master plan.
The Melbourne Airport Master Plan, as it’s officially known, was approved by the federal government last December.
Hume Residents Airport Action Group spokesman Frank Rivoli said the airport was curfew-free and there was no buffer zone between it and residential suburbs on its eastern and south-eastern sides.
“According to the Melbourne Airport website, there will be aircraft between 200 and 400 feet above our homes,” Mr Rivoli said.
During the meeting, a resolution was passed to advocate for the expansion of Avalon Airport, which the group feels is underutilised.
The Melbourne Airport website says the Major Development Plan process for the third runway is likely to begin next year.
