WestConnex smoke stacks on proposed site for 5400 new homes
At least one building in a massive proposed residential development in Sydney’s south will have no openable windows or natural ventilation because of its proximity to WestConnex smoke stacks.
St George Shire Standard
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At least one building in a proposed new development in Sydney’s south will have no openable windows or natural ventilation because of its proximity to WestConnex smoke stacks.
Almost 5400 proposed new homes at Cook Cove on the Cooks River in Arncliffe will sit alongside WestConnex’s Arncliffe Ventilation Facility, which falls just inside the site boundary.
The site includes eight 35m-high ventilation outlets for the new M5 tunnel and the M4-M5 link, and the developer says one commercial building near the stacks will have to be completely artificially ventilated as a result.
A Roads and Maritime Services spokesman said air quality was a key community concern with most motorways.
“The tunnel ventilation system for WestConnex has been designed in line with the world’s best practice and meets strict guidelines on air quality,” the spokesman said.
“This includes tunnel designs which are wider, flatter and higher so ventilation works more effectively.”
The spokesman said communities on the WestConnex corridor stretching from Sydney’s south to its western suburbs would benefit from removing thousands of cars from local surface roads.
“As detailed in the New M5 Environmental Impact Statement, modelling of air quality was carried out across the whole New M5 footprint at varying heights above ground level,” he said.
“Ambient air quality monitoring will be conducted pre-and post-operation to demonstrate that emissions from the ventilation outlets will have no significant impact on local air quality.”
The $16b WestConnex motorway system widened the M4 between Parramatta and Homebush, and lengthened the on and off-ramps at the King Georges Rd M5 interchange.
Future plans include underground M4 tunnels between Homebush and Haberfield, doubling road capacity on the M5 East with underground tunnels between St Peters and Kingsgrove, and connecting the routes through the M4-M5 Link tunnel.
WestConnex later proposes to connect to Sydney’s south with the F6 extension to the Sutherland Shire.