Anger at tradies after being caught cutting down gum trees at 2am in Bulleen, Melbourne’s eastern suburbs: ‘I have young children in the house’
- Residents furious after tradies saw trees at 2am
- Part of Melbourne’s North East Link project
Everyone knows that hard-working tradies like to get up early to get the job done.
But residents of Bulleen, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, were outraged after being awakened at 2am by the sound of workmen chainsawing gum trees.
A video of the incident, shared by journalist Jacqueline Felgate on Instagram, shows about a half-dozen tradies in hardhats sawing branches off a towering gum tree with a cherry picker in the early hours of Wednesday, August 9.
The deafening thump of the saw can be heard above the hum of a diesel generator powering a huge street lamp that fills the street with light while a huge truck with its engine idling waits to pick up the branches.
The work is part of the North East Link project, which the state government says will take 15,000 trucks off local roads every day and reduce travel times by up to 35 minutes through the construction of huge tunnels.
A woman who claimed she and her husband were awakened by the noise shared the video with Ms Felgate to illustrate the impact on residents.
“Not only is there constant dust, noise and work at any time of the day,” the woman wrote.
“This week things got even worse when they started chainsawing mature gum trees at 2 a.m. on Tuesday and 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.”
The woman said the noise was “frightening” and especially alarming as she has young children at home.
“They disrupt people all day long and there is no respect for the community. It’s just one thing after another and it’s really frustrating,” she shared news.com.au.
In the video, the deafening thump of the saw can be heard above the hum of a diesel generator powering a huge street lamp that fills the street with light as a huge truck with its engine idling waits to collect the sawn-off branches.
“Some nights they’re jackhammering,” she added.
“The vibrations are loud and cause the windows in the house to move. And sometimes pictures on the wall will vibrate.’
The resident claims that she was not offered any compensation or relocation for the work.
Last year she only got ear plugs for the noise.
But her complaints fall on deaf ears: the municipality claims that they do not own the land and are therefore unable to help.
Duncan Elliott, CEO Major Roads Projects Victoria, told news.com.au that the work was scheduled to take place overnight because the road was “incredibly busy with trucks and cars during the day.”
“Before the works started, we let residents know what was going on and offered those closest to the works the option to move while we carried out these disruptive works,” he said.
Under state law in Victoria, construction work in residential areas may only be carried out between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.
However, special permits may be issued for times outside these hours.
Construction of the North East Link began in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2028.