Snowy Monaro Regional Council project representatives, including chief project management, and the Berridale Project Engagement Group (PEG), met recently to address community concern regarding the Berridale Master Plan.

The meeting was convened following raised alarms regarding tree removal and infrastructure design for phase 1 of the project, which includes adding a culvert pipe under the entrance to Myack Street.

However, project officials have clarified that the concerns appear to be based on a superseded design from seven years ago, rather than the approved “For Construction” plans currently being implemented.

Despite this, the construction schedule went ahead late last week and the planned road closure at the Myack Street has begun.

Project officials state that while the early concept served as the initial spark for the Master Plan, it does not reflect the final, approved design.

A Berridale resident and long-standing member of the PEG committee, Phil Daley, expressed frustration following a series of meetings with council officials.

According to Mr Daley, the committee, formed to represent the community’s interests, has been left in the dark regarding the technical specifics and the long-term impact of the design.

“We were given mind-boggling reasons why the culvert had to go in, of which we can’t check the veracity,” Mr Daley said.

“A recent meeting was convened with almost no notice, leaving committee members with little time to review these technical documents.

“We received an email at 5pm advising of a meeting at 9.30am the next day. When we met, we were issued with the front page of a 12-page set of plans. That was all we had to go on.

“This lack of information has led to skepticism regarding the project’s logic.”

Mr Daley, along with other committee members, questioned the decision to begin construction in the middle of the waterway system rather than at the outlet.

“The normal way to design a waterway is to design from the outlet end up,” Mr Daley said.

“If you start in the middle, you’re playing catch-up trying to get the outlet to the right size to compensate for the water coming through. I’m not sure how they’re going to achieve that, and I don’t think the council staff knew either.”

Another central point of contention involved the alleged removal of local trees from the war memorial park in the centre of Berridale.

The project team has confirmed that no trees will be removed as part of this project.

“I find it very difficult to understand how that’s going to happen,” Mr Daley said.

“The physical size of the required culverts makes it difficult to see how the root systems of the trees will remain undisturbed.

“I suspect the culverts will

be in and all the work finished before we see that design.”

Current plans for stage 2 - the section of the project that provides the outlet through the park - reportedly include that the design contractor must work around the existing vegetation.

According to council documents that have been seen by The Monaro Post the current Master Plan and the “For Construction” designs specifically retain all existing trees, and the construction contract includes an explicit prohibition against tree removal.

To ensure the protection of these natural assets, a detailed tree survey has been conducted to map and preserve their value throughout the construction process.

Officials noted that this commitment to tree preservation has been a consistent point of communication with both the PEG and local Councillors throughout the planning phases.

The Berridale Master Plan is a multi-staged initiative. Addressing community requests for additional memorial space, the project team acknowledged that expansion of the memorial area is slated for stage 2.

These works will be actioned as soon as funding permits. The current stage 1 design has been developed to ensure it does not obstruct these future expansions, allowing for a seamless transition when the next phase of the project begins.

According to the same council documents mentioned earlier, the project’s consulting engineer has confirmed that the Myack Street design was informed by staged investigations into both upstream and downstream conditions, ensuring that current works are compatible with future hydrology requirements.

To maintain transparency, the project team re-iterated that the PEG has already been provided with the current design documentation, which confirms the “no tree removal” policy.

Once the full designs for the park, Oliver, and Bolton Street culverts, along with the accompanying hydrology report, are submitted to the Council they will be shared with the PEG for review.