Recapping our investigative series, Part 1 delved into the decisive actions of councilors regarding the Wollombi Road Upgrade. (Link to Part 1)
In Part 2, we explored the objections surrounding the Wollombi Contribution Plan, a pivotal vote in Part 1 that ultimately swayed the court’s decision in favor of the plan. (Link to Part 2)
Now, in Part 3, we unravel the strategic moves made by Cessnock City Councilors after the recent Land and Environment Court ruling.
Before we jump right in it’s important that we look back to 2018, Cessnock embarked on a mission to strengthen its transportation network, unveiling a comprehensive strategy crafted with community and stakeholder input, which is known as the 2018 Traffic and Transport Plan, this report outlines the traffic upgrades required, its more of an infrastructure wish list, this plan does outline both a ring road and winding of Wollombi Rd, which was supported by all councilors at the time.
Cessnock City Council in 2020 a city-wide contribution plan was adopted, the contribution plan at the time excluded the Bellbird North Contribution Plan likely due to a pending court case.
March 9, 2021, marked a pivotal court ruling reshaping the narrative around the Wollombi Road project. On March 17, the Cessnock City Council unanimously backed a community engagement proposal for the Wollombi Road Implementation Program during an Ordinary Council Meeting.
Councilor Ian Olsen passionately advocated for swift action to upgrade Wollombi Road to four lanes. Have listen below to what Councilor Olsen had to say in 2021
Former Councilor Lyons, also spoke on the matter emphasizing the importance of the Implementation transport strategy 2018 which is no longer current. But here is what he had to say at the time
2022 brought a twist with the amended city-wide contributions plan, now including Bellbird North. All councilors, regardless of political affiliation, united in 2022 to support the Wollombi Road upgrade to four lanes. This meeting happended on 16th of March 2022.
A revelation surfaced during our conversation with Councilor Jessica Jurd, who inadvertently voted in favor of the Bellbird North Contribution Plan without reading the documentation. She expressed concerns about the plan being bundled within a Englobo, highlighting the challenge of reviewing extensive documentation amid her new council responsibilities. As you can see from the below documents all current serving councilors voted in favor of the motion which includes the upgrading and widing of Wollombi Rd.
All current independent councilors and one Liberal councilor, initially voted in favor, but withdrew their support in 2023 in a failed attempt to block a preliminary engineering report for the Wollombi Road upgrades.
The residents and business that will be affected along Wollombi are becoming more vocal in there opposition to the four lane upgrade and now have support of four independent councilors and one liberal councilor, but can they be trusted? The fact remains each one of these councilors voted in favor of upgrading Wollombi as recently as 2022.
Cessnock Mayor Suuval is facing heavy criticism as he went to the last election with promise of the ring road, which is still on table and plans for the ring road due back at council by the end of the year, the big issue with the ring road is that it’s not funded and its at least a decade away from being reality.
The actions of Cessnock Council over the past decade have lead to this debacle which intil recent times have been left unchecked by the media and residents of this town, but things have changed since the introduction of MHV NEWS who is truly independent and will hold all councilors responsible for their actions regardless of their political affiliation.