Image: Rozelle Parklands were closed three weeks after opening due to asbestos contamination.
by HOPE PRATT
After nearly 3 months of closure, Transport NSW has begun the staged reopening of Rozelle Parklands.
Yesterday, on Thursday 28 March, shared-user paths from the Rozelle Bay light rail stop to the Victoria Road Bridge underpass were reopened at 5pm.
The community will also regain access to two sporting fields: the oval and rectangular pitch.
The development has been welcomed by community members, especially as school holidays approach and the Biennale puts added pressure on public access ways and open spaces.
Member for Balmain Kobi Shetty met with the Premier during the last sitting period and urged him to reopen shared pathways as soon as possible.
“I’m so pleased the government took this feedback from our community on board and have prioritised getting the parklands reopened for the public,” she said.
“After many years of waiting for something positive to come out of this project, it was terrible for our community to have the parklands closed only a few weeks after opening due to asbestos contamination,” she continued.
Asbestos was first found in early January only three weeks after the opening of the parklands, which were offered to the community as a compensation for extreme disruptions during the construction of WestConnex.
She went to reiterate the need for accountability after EPA regulations were not met by private contractors conducting tests of the mulch.
“While I’m so pleased to see the fields and pathways beginning to re-open, I’m still working to ensure we get to the bottom of how this happened in the first place,” she said.
“This EPA investigation needs to be transparent, and must hold those responsible for this mess to account.”
After significant delays in the remediation of the parklands, Inner West Council launched legal action against contractors John Holland and CPB to expedite the clean-up of asbestos.
At the time, Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said it was “totally unacceptable” that remediation was behind schedule.
“It seems that because the EPA clean-up notice was issued to Transport for NSW, these contractors have decided that they aren’t accountable for adhering to the deadline,” he said.
“Since the discovery of asbestos in the park they built, John Holland and CPB have displayed a flagrant disregard for our local community.”
Calls for contractors and transport authorities to be held accountable have continued amidst the ongoing EPA investigation.
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