The Metro Tunnel western portal’s clashes with residents

Plans for the Metro Tunnel’s western portal in South Kensington in 2015 required the demolition of 10 houses and 14 businesses. But pressure from locals changed those plans. The tunnel entrance was moved, and only one house was demolished.

Mattthew Hammond has lived in Kensington for 25 years. His house was one of the 10 originally earmarked for compulsory acquisition and demolition. 

Mr Hammond said he was immediately sceptical of the necessity of demolition when he was notified.

“An engineer appeared at our door and told us the news,” he said.

“This was the second iteration of the Metro project – it was floated previously by the Brumby Government and at that time they said they wouldn’t need to knock any houses,” he said.

“So, I had prior knowledge that they could do this without knocking houses.”

“The view was, if you have to knock houses to build the infrastructure than okay – but you’ve got to demonstrate that you have to, not just that it’s convenient.”

Mr Hammond said he and his wife Bron door knocked neighbours in the immediate vicinity – the sides of Ormond and Childers streets closest to the planned tunnel entrance – and found others felt similarly.

He was active in the local residents’ association, the Kensington Association, with others who were concerned by the plans.

They included Therese Fitzgerald, a Kensington local since 1975, and Dennis Kennedy, who moved to Kensington in 2014.

“Basically, because of our community works, we saved 14 businesses and nine houses,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“The community is absolutely amazing – we know each other’s skill base and if we need to use it, we do.” 

Dennis Kennedy’s involvement in the campaign was an example. Mr Kennedy lives on Altona St, close to the triangle-shaped area of Childers and Ormond streets that work would have demolished.

As a civil engineer, Mr Kennedy was able to make a detailed case for alternative plans.

“When I looked at it, I thought about how the traffic would flow, how the entrance to the industrial park on upper Childers St would work,” he said.

The plan that included the demolitions had not yet been officially approved. Other plans had been drawn up for consideration, and Mr Kennedy wrote a cost summary of the differences between the proposals to help the locals’ case.

The pressure eventually worked.

But Mr Hammond, Ms Fitzgerald and Mr Kennedy all have grievances with how the work has proceeded since.

They’ve struggled with long construction hours, noise, dust and vibrations since 2017. Although the residents support the infrastructure investment, they have taken issue with the lack of benefit for Kensington.

“The reality is that Kensington and South Kensington doesn’t benefit at all from this project, we’re just the entrance to the tunnel. We don’t get a station or anything like that, but we got a lot of disruption,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

The bitter feeling is exacerbated by tensions over the state of South Kensington Station, which locals have long complained about. 

The Age reported in 2017 that Minister for Planning Richard Wynne had been advised by experts that an upgrade to the station should be considered as part of the Metro Tunnel project to bring it “up to current standards”.

Mr Hammond said that residents had been treated unfairly.

“There has never been any proper noise mitigation – if you look at RMIT they’ve got acoustic sheds, they put roofs over the works around Melbourne University and the hospitals,” he said.

“In the last financial year, the project did 46 weeks of out-of-hours work.”

“While it’s a good project and we all support the Metro Tunnel, it’s a seriously important piece of infrastructure, there’s no balance between getting the project built and the ability for residents to have some normal life.”

North West City News understands that part of that disruption is due to major construction of what is known as a “decline structure” at the tunnel entrance that has required extended hours of work due to challenging ground conditions.

Residents are sometimes offered voluntary purchase of their homes, or long-term relocation, when they complain if they’re eligible – although it is not entirely clear what constitutes eligibility.

A Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) spokesperson told North West City News that it had worked closely with the Kensington community.

“The Metro Tunnel is a project our city and state needs. It’s how we’ll deliver more trains, more often to and from our suburbs and free up vital space in the city loop,” the spokesperson said.

“From the early stages of planning the Metro Tunnel, we have worked closely with the Kensington community on many project elements including the design and location of the western tunnel entrance to minimise acquisition of homes and businesses.”

“Our workers on the ground do their best to keep noise to a minimum but we’ve been clear from the beginning of construction that a project of this size will cause some disruption.” •