The closure of the Boroondara Tennis Centre on 22 December appears to threaten more of Melbourne’s green open space. Whilst the centre on Bulleen Road in North Balwyn, and located near the Eastern Freeway, provided 23 outdoor courts for tennis players, the precinct also includes a significant amount of vegetation, including native and exotic canopy trees.
It appears that the treed area would be in the path of the off ramp east bound on to the Eastern Freeway from the proposed North East Link tunnel. An open concrete drain in the precinct is what used to be the Koonung Creek prior to the construction of the Eastern Freeway. The replacement of this open space by an impervious concrete and asphalt road surface will be another environmental detriment visited on this area by the project.
The North East Link Project is on the record claiming that it would provide for more “wetlands” as part of the project. However, it is important to recognize that these additional wetlands would only be necessary because of the additional run-off caused by the massive increase in road surface area which is threatened as a major element of the project.
15 January 2023