The Suburban Rail Loop Authority wants to redraw its construction boundary in Box Hill to save more of a popular park — and the trade-off lands on the people next door. Under the revised plan, the ABC reports, the new Box Hill station's bite out of Box Hill Gardens shrinks from 25 per cent of the park to about 10 per cent — while 10 more properties and a laneway are compulsorily acquired instead.
The acquisitions haven't happened yet. The authority says the formal process for the additional properties is expected to start late this year, with the sites vacated between 2027 and 2030, depending on when each is needed for construction. The government plans to have trains running on the loop by 2035 — and the project is set to be a key issue at the November 28 state election.
'Now, we're going to lose more'
On Monday night, Whitehorse City Council's councillors voted unanimously to support conserving the park while opposing further construction encroachment elsewhere in Box Hill. Mayor Kirsten Langford said there had been little community consultation over the changes. "We've lost 50 businesses as a result of the compulsory acquisition date. Now, we're going to lose more," Cr Langford said. "We welcome that change in Box Hill Gardens. However, the SRL is saying they wish to reduce the open space that they're going to offset in Box Hill Gardens." The new acquisitions, she said, are landing "with very little warning".
For some traders it is the second upheaval. Small business owner Yinwei Yu already moved his business once because of rail loop construction — and will now have to move again. "It's been very difficult because I've lost a lot of customers," he said. "I'm very disappointed, but this is the reality of [running a business] and I have to live with it."
Kevin Earl of the Whitehorse Ratepayers Association, who has lived in the Box Hill area for seven decades, said the construction had smothered the retail precinct's vibrancy. "There's so much acquisition — even the local medical centre — it got acquired the day it went to auction," he said. "[The SRL construction] is killing Box Hill. There's just no trade and a lot of traders have shifted." Getting answers, he said, is its own battle: "To get an answer out of [the SRLA] is very difficult. They're now responsible for planning out of the area, and the other issue is trying to get a decent price out of the state government for something that's been acquired."
The authority's case
A Suburban Rail Loop Authority spokesperson said the revised approach would "significantly reduce the impact of works on Box Hill Gardens". "Taking lessons from other major projects such as Metro Tunnel, this approach means more efficient construction — saving money — and less impact on surrounding businesses and the community," the spokesperson said. "We understand property acquisition can be difficult for affected landowners, tenants, and businesses and we will continue to support them to find suitable new locations where required," they said. The station itself, in the authority's words, "will be in the heart of Box Hill, connecting more people to jobs, health services and study opportunities in the thriving cultural hub".
Which leaves Box Hill weighing a genuine trade: more of its park kept green, at the cost of 10 more front doors on the acquisition list. The council backed the park on Monday night and objected to the rest in the same breath — and with the election just over ten weeks away, the rail loop's neighbours will get their say soon enough.
