Bulging bus depot to expand
Image: Leichhardt Bus Depot
The Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) has given its approval for the expansion of Leichhardt Bus Depot on Balmain Rd.
In a meeting held on Wednesday March 20, the JRPP panel approved the proposal for the bus despot, which is already the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The expansion will see an increase of 81 bus parking spaces and 92 extra staff, and effectively means the bus despot will see a 40 per cent increase in its bus movements.
“They [the JRPP] don’t appear to take into consideration community interests at all,” said Leichhardt resident Jennifer Aaron.
“You have to understand that the bus despot in Leichhardt is the largest bus despot in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s the only one that’s in such a built up residential area and it’s in a three-way cul-de-sac, which would defy any kind of logic whatsoever.”
“All they’re really interested in hearing from is the applicant. They say they’ve read all the submissions … which I doubt very much.”
Teena Clerke, member of the Leichhardt Community Group, was similarly dismayed at the decision.
“The panel, and particularly the chair, completely ignored residential concerns in these key issues and basically told the applicants they only had to address parking,” she said.
“They didn’t mention anything the residents said, and in fact during the residents’ presentations some of the panel members were talking to each other. Certainly the justice and the fairness of the JRPP have not been evident in any experience that we’ve had so far.”
Council’s recommendation is against the proposal, but Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne said they do not have the authority to veto the expansion.
“We were not the consent authority and cannot legally overturn the State Government decision that has now been made through the JRPP,” he said.
