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Save Shipley, Centennial Glen and Porters Pass! Blackheath Bypass Proposal

Photo: Kamil Sustiak , Climber: Tom O'Halloran

When we first heard about the proposal for a Blackheath bypass via Shipley and Centennial Glen we honestly thought it was a political diversion. It seemed so preposterous that we thought it an attempt to get people’s attention, so the government could then offer a “solution” by implementing a “less dire” plan which would otherwise get rejected. It is, however becoming more apparent that they might actually be serious about this proposal, and when you consider the geographical constraints to the north and the cost of tunnelling it doesn’t seem out of the picture for them. 

 

Despite not having world heritage or National Park status, the Shipley Plateau and Centennial Glen offers some of the most dramatic natural landscape in the area with delicate flora and fauna. The landscape is adored by climbers, hikers, botanists, bird watchers and many, many more groups of people. Not just that, once humans stamp their huge infrastructure stamp on it, it will never go back to the natural state which it now is. 

 

If this is just a diversion to pass another proposal through, we must be very careful with what they’re trying to sneak through. If this is a legitimate proposal itself, we must do everything we can to stop it. 

 

What to do? First steps are Easy. 

  1. Jump onto the Facebook Group Save The Glen, they have info as well as a guide to writing a submission. Use the template and submit it!
  2. Visit https://v2.communityanalytics.com.au/rms/great-western-highway/map?fbclid=IwAR03GuI9ERGIIOljAjNiNR9EMBm4cLOzSWd9wKCOZQBvezpEuYmoavAV5S4  Read the proposal, submit a comment on it. 

 

By: Matthew Eaton