Community activism makes a difference.
Exciting news and a big thanks to everyone.
Today, on October 12, 2020, Minister Toole announced that the Government will not be building a bypass through Centennial Glen as part of its plan to redevelop the Great Western Highway at Blackheath. What a huge relief!
Thank you all so much for your support – by being a member of this community, writing submissions, providing finances or just encouraging us with your likes and comments. All of this made a significant difference and the outcome speaks to the power of community activism, as well as a great co-design process run by Transport for NSW and a Minister who listened to community sentiment.
I hope you take a moment to pause and savour this wonderful achievement.
Next steps
The Government still intends to redevelop the Great Western Highway at Blackheath. There are now two options on the table for further consultation – a short tunnel or a long tunnel through Blackheath. See NSW Government Great Western Highway Consultation below.
We will continue to advocate for a long tunnel. This option ensures that through traffic is taken away from Blackheath for the longest distance, improves the safety, liveability and amenity of Blackheath, and does not involve the destruction of property or the installation of ventilation stacks.
Well done, everybody!
Juliet Bourke
NSW Government Media Release
NSW Government Great Western Highway Consultation
Community consultation on the preferred tunnel option is closed. Transport for NSW is preparing a report on the results for publication in early 2021.
For the Great Western Highway Upgrade virtual community consultation site, see:
https://v2.communityanalytics.com.au/rms/great-western-highway/virtual
The site provides information on the remaining tunnel options, including an animation showing the proposed tunnel portals, a map showing the expected routes, frequently asked questions and answers, and other information.
For the NSW Government Great Western Highway Upgrade Program information site, see:
The TfNSW (Transport for NSW) minutes for the August 19th, 2020 meeting of the BCC (Blackheath Co-design Committee) are below:
We have some great news to share following the meeting of the BCC (Blackheath Co-design Committee) on Wednesday 19 August, 2020. By then there were six options on the table: through Centennial Glen, through Station Street, widening the Great Western Highway, a short tunnel and two long tunnels (one under the Western side of the highway, one under the Eastern side).
Here’s the good news:
TfNSW gave us a direct, clear and public assurance that they had heard and understand our emphatic rejection of the Centennial Glen and Station Street options, and these options should not progress any further.
Given this, we can expect that the final report (out in October for public consultation about the final preferred option(s)) will not include Centennial Glen as an option.
Finally, the co-design committee was unanimous (amazing!) about what the preferred option should be, but we need to wait for the Minister’s approval before that is made public.
It’s not over until it’s over, but this feels pretty good for Centennial Glen.
A very big thanks to the many community members involved in achieving this outcome.
Also kudos to TfNSW for running a good community consultation process. It was hard for us and hard for them, but I have a lot of respect for the way they operated and demonstrated good public service.
Now we just need the Minister to align with us and implement the preferred option.
Juliet Bourke, Blackheath Co-Design Committee representative of the Save Centennial Glen community
The TfNSW (Transport for NSW) minutes for the July 1st, 2020 meeting of the BCC (Blackheath Co-design Committee) are below:
The Blackheath Co-design Committee (BCC) was established by TfNSW (Transport for NSW) as part of the community consultation over the Great Western Highway upgrade at Blackheath.
The BCC is mentioned on page 8 of this document:
Great Western Highway Upgrade Program – Katoomba to Lithgow Community Consultation Summary Report
Termsof reference are in this document:
The Save Centennial Glen group was represented on the Blackheath Co-design Committee.
The Blackheath Co-design Committee was offered a limited set of options by Transport for NSW. Building no road at all was not among those options.
The final meeting took place on Wednesday 19 August 2020.
The proceedings of BCC meetings are below:
- BCC Update, 2020-05-06
- BCC Update, 2020-06-03
- BCC Update, 2020-06-20
- BCC Update, 2020-07-01
- BCC Update, 2020-08-05
- BCC Update, 2020-08-19
- BCC Report
The TfNSW (Transport for NSW) minutes for the June 19 and 20th, 2020 walkaround with the BCC (Blackheath Co-design Committee) are below:
TfNSW Blackheath Co-design Committee Update, 2020-06-20 Walkaround
Representatives met near the intersection of Evans Lookout Road and the Great Western Highway and walked to various sites associated with the road options.
