Queanbeyan-Palerang Council approves road route through wildlife sanctuary

The Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) has voted to proceed with a road project that will pass through the Wandiyali~Environa Wildlife Sanctuary. The Dunns Creek Road project aims to connect Tralee in South Jerrabomberra with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), providing a second access point to the growing communities of South Jerrabomberra and Queanbeyan.

Following an extraordinary meeting, Mayor Kenrick Winchester successfully moved to adopt ‘Option Five’ as the preferred route. This decision follows previous advice to scrap the second stage of the project. The council noted that choosing this route means abandoning five other alternatives, including three options that would have required the demolition of up to 31 homes in the Fernleigh Park development.

While the decision has drawn warnings regarding irreversible damage to the wildlife haven, Mayor Winchester argued that the community expects the road to be delivered according to a 2015 decision by the former Queanbeyan City Council. He also questioned the timing of the land being set aside for environmental conservation in 2017, given its prior identification for infrastructure.