Last month CPB Contractors, the builders of the St Peters Westconnex Interchange, were fined $445,000 for “causing an offensive odour” after they failed to properly manage leachate on the site between March and July 2017.
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said that residents and businesses of St Peters had complained for months about the disgusting smell coming from the construction site before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally took action.
“It took hundreds of complaints before any action was taken, and it then took a further two and a half years to bring CPB to account,” he said.
“Given the length of time it took for the EPA to take action, that nearly half-million-dollars should be returned to the St Peters community, not State Government coffers.’
The Mayor said the money would be far better spent putting safety measures in place in the streets of St Peters, where the safety of school children is being put at risk as a result of WestConnex traffic.
“The new St Peters Interchange will connect WestConnex with Campbell Road, which provides the main access to St Peters Public School,” he said.
“Parents and the principal are already deeply concerned about the safety implications for kids getting to and from school.
“The council has completed a traffic study that shows us how to make streets safer in the wake of WestConnex. Given that our community is bearing the brunt of this project, it’s only right that the State Government fund its implementation.”
Use motorway fine for safety
INNER West Council is calling on the State Government to use a nearly half-million-dollar fine against WestConnex contractors CPB to help protect local residents from the safety impacts of the Motorway.