Council has provided the following information to Community Reference  Group Members regarding the current status of the riverfront:

“You will be aware of the current issues at the Amcor site regarding the fallen tree and the condition of the river bank. I want to outline to you what has been occurring over the past week to address the various issues.  

•  Glenvill are the owners of the land extending down to the river bank with Melbourne Water responsible for managing the waterway. Glenvill therefore have responsibility for what happens on their river bank land and their compliance with any relevant statutory requirements.
• Council’s role to date has been to facilitate discussions between Glenvill and Melbourne Water in order to arrange the removal of the fallen tree and to get a clearer understanding of the site conditions
• Glenvill has agreed to remove the fallen tree from the Yarra River, which will take 2-3 weeks to organise.
• The two incidences of fallen trees has raised issues regarding the condition of the river frontage land and particularly the seepage and slumping of part of the river front. Officers are working to understand the underlying cause of these incidents. It appears that the seepage is being caused by the natural flow of the groundwater to the Yarra River, rather than a single point of water discharge such as a broken drainage pipe. Council needs to get a complete understanding of what is occurring with the ground conditions to then understand the responsibilities of the land owner and authorities and what remedial action, if any, is needed and can be taken.
• Glenvill have provided officers with an engineering technical report on the ground water conditions of the Amcor site which officers have reviewed. Officers are seeking further engineering advice from Glenvill that responds to the current conditions.
• Council is also engaging a technical expert to provide separate advice to Council regarding the ground water and soil conditions. They will have a role in reviewing any reports provided by Glenville
• Various pieces of legislation affect the land in this situation and officers are seeking legal advice to understand the relevant legislative requirements and obligations of the land owner and agencies. This is critical to understand what action can be taken to deal with the underlying issues and what approvals may be required for the removal of trees, if this is necessary.

• Glenvill has identified two additional trees that they consider are hazardous and a potential risk and are currently investigating their condition. Glenvill will be submitting their own arborist report which, based on their advice to date, will be advising that the two identified tress are a hazard and should be removed. Council’s arborist has visited the site and provided advice and will review the arborist report from Glenvill. The two pieces of advice will need to be carefully considered in conjunction with any geotechnical /engineering advice Council receives.
• I’m sure you will appreciate that obtaining the necessary advice from different parties will take a little time but should come together in the next few days. Council officers will continue working with the land owner and Melbourne Water. “

In addition Mayor Danae Bosler has made the following statement to the media…

• “Council is still waiting on further advice, both technical and legal, about the condition of the river bank and the trees on the banks of the Yarra River at the former Amcor site in Alphington, which should be received within the next few days. Until then, I won’t be making any decisions, or supporting any possible planning permits to remove the trees (none have been received). As the Mayor, I absolutely don’t support the removal of trees unnecessarily and I understand officers are working with the developer (who is responsible for this land where the trees are located) to investigate best options to keep the trees secure and in the ground.”