DECEMBER 9, 2015 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Street sizzle hits a snag
(Joe Mastroianni)
The sights, sounds and smells of Yarraville’s Saturday sausage sizzle have been snuffed out. Maribyrnong council has ordered butcher Andrew’s of Yarraville to immediately cease its popular weekly cheese kransky sizzle, telling the business it has the wrong permit. Lisa Vourvahakis, who runs the shop with husband George (pictured), said the award-winning butcher had been running the sizzle for 12 years with no complaints from the public or the council. “A lot of people are really upset about this,” she said. “The council knows what we have been doing for 12 years. They were OK with it all that time, but suddenly they tell us we have to stop.” Maribyrnong council sustainable development director Nigel Higgins said the business held a permit for a table and chairs on the footpath but was selling products which did not comply with the permit. “When this was brought to their attention, they advised us they didn’t intend to continue to operate the sausage sizzle and would not apply for the relevant permit,” he said. But Ms Vourvahakis disputed this account, saying they had told the council they would do whatever it took to keep the sausage sizzle alive. Benjamin Millar
Green light for distributor By Benjamin Millar A tunnel will be built under Yarraville and a new road will cross the Maribyrnong River after the state government yesterday gave the proposed Western Distributor the go ahead. Premier Daniel Andrews announced that Transurban’s $5.5 billion project will be funded through a combination of tolling on the Western Distributor, an extension of tolling on CityLink for another 10 to 12 years, about $400 million in state government funding and additional federal money. “We’re getting on with the Western
Distributor to provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, slash congestion on the M1 from the west to the south-east and create thousands of new jobs,” he said. The project will also widen the West Gate Freeway from eight to 12 lanes and include an elevated road above Footscray Road, linking with CityLink and the CBD. The government says the roadway would take 6000 trucks off the West Gate Bridge each day and up to 75 per cent of trucks off Francis Street and Somerville Road. A ‘reference business case’, released alongside the announcement, shows a $1.30 benefit for
every dollar invested. Construction would begin in 2018 and be completed by 2022. Existing truck curfews on local roads will be extended once construction has completed. Transurban chief executive Scott Charlton said the Western Distributor would shape the future of the city. But Yarraville residents claim Transurban has been selective in its use of findings from community consultation, picking up on comments about removing trucks from local streets but ignoring concerns about the loss of open space and impact on Stony Creek. Concerned Locals of Yarraville spokesman
Scott Ellerton said the project’s impact on residents and green space was unacceptable. Friends of Stony Creek president Steve Wilson said the freeway flyover would have a devastating impact on bird and animal life in the reserve. And the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group is demanding state-of-the-art tunnel filtration and a ban on trucks on residential streets. On a visit to the site with Opposition Leader Matthew Guy on Friday, shadow roads minister Ryan Smith told Star Weekly he was concerned by a lack of transparency and likely impact of the project on green space and nearby residents.