Hume council has vowed to allocate all necessary and available resources to tackle the movement of hundreds of trucks each day through Canterbury Hills Estate in Sunbury.
As reported by the Star Weekly, hundreds of truck movements per day have been recorded on Canterbury Avenue over the past six months.
The incessant activity has taken a toll on residents’ lives, with multiple reports made to council, the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria, and police.
At the September 8 council meeting, frustrated Sunbury residents asked over 20 public questions as they voiced their concerns during question time, which prompted Mayor Jarrod Bell to bring a notice of motion forward to the following meeting on September 22.
“Over the past number of months, Canterbury Hills Estate, in particular Canterbury Avenue in Sunbury, has been shaken by the movement of more than 300 trucks a day along a road that was never meant to carry that burden,” he said.
“This is not a minor inconvenience. It is sleep loss. It is day after day. It is anxiety that does not ease. It is damaging to property and to our council assets. It is the erosion of people’s basic sense of safety and the quality of their life.”
Council has issued multiple statements following residents’ complaints, with the situation currently being investigated by council officers, with the owner of 370 Riddell Road telling council the truck movements and works are associated with farming.
Cr Bell however was not pleased with this response.
“These are people and businesses who should know better, who should be seeking goodwill with the community that they operate in,” he said.
“Instead, through their actions they have destroyed it. They claim legitimacy. To me, their actions are anything but legitimate.
“They have blatant disregard for residents and for the law as it is intended in my mind.”
The successful motion involves council acknowledging the residents’ concerns and expressing its frustration with the situation, and directs council officers to complete investigations as soon as possible, including prioritising and allocating all necessary and available council resources to expedite a resolution.
Council will also actively pursue any further legal, regulatory, or innovative measures to assist in restoring safety to residents.
A review will be undertaken of the council’s investigation process, with the findings to come back to council next year.
