Cade Lucas
Two weeks after traffic and road issues forced Wyndham council to block any further developments at Tarneit’s Creekstone estate, ]residents have claimed the same problems exist at neighbouring housing estates too.
Earlier this month Wyndham council blocked the release of any further land parcels at Creekstone estate until developer Macson Developments built a signalised intersection and bridge as promised.
Currently the Settlement Road and Dohertys Road intersection is the only way in or out of Creekstone, with residents claiming it has become dangerously congested as a result.
Macson Developments blamed planning delays for the failure to deliver a second entrance and said it was working with council to rectify the problem.
According to resident Arvind Gupta, it’s not an isolated case.
“This is a problem for everyone living in this corner of Tarneit,” said Mr Gupta who lives in Creekstone estate, but used to own properties in nearby Bluestone and Harlow estates as well.
Asked if traffic congestion caused by a lack of road infrastructure had influenced his decision to sell those properties, the IT consultant and father of two was emphatic.
“One hundred per cent.”
“I had one (property) in Bluestone and two in Harlow and because of the poor planning I decided to sell them at a loss,” he said estimating the total to be roughly $80,000.
Mr Gupta said he bought the properties at a premium based on plans the developers of these states failed to deliver.
“There’s no exit from Bluestone and Harlow estate and when we were shown the masterplan there were multiple exists,” he said.
Bluestone estate developer Satterly and Harlow developer SIG Group were contacted for comment.
Mr Gupta’s lives in Fresco Way in Creekstone estate, near the border of Orchard, New Haven and Emerald Park estates.
His next door neighbour Harjinder Sidhu, agreed that the entire area is beset by traffic problems caused by poor planning.
“There’s is no entry to Doherty’s Road from Orchard or Newhaven so all the traffic comes on Tarneit Road,” he said.
“That makes all the traffic come through Emerald and Creekstone and those roads are not meant for heavy traffic.”
A spokesperson for Newhaven developer, Peet, said they were working closely with Wyndham council to deliver the infrastructure promised to residents.
“We pride ourselves on designing communities with safety and convenience in mind, and will continue to meet these high standards at Newhaven as development progresses.”
The developers of Orchard and Emerald Park estate were contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for Wyndham council said while council had not received any complaints about these neighbouring estates and that none were considered to be in breach of their obligations, it reserved the right to take action if needed.
“Wyndham City acts accordingly and follows the regulatory processes when breaches occur and takes the required action when developers are not honouring their obligations to council and the community.”
