Letter to the Mayor from the Merri Creek Residents Group

Dear Mayor

Thank you for making time to meet with representatives of the Merri Creek Residents Group this afternoon to discuss our outstanding concerns with the rezoning of the BTS site.
As per our discussions, we are continuing to pursue various avenues of challenging the decision that has been made, and the main ways in which Moreland Council can support us include:
- Through supporting our call for an Independent Review of the decision to rezone the land and allow the new 66kV facility to be built at the BTS site. Such an Independent Review would allow full consideration of all the facts in this matter, and not just the views and wishes of the power companies to be taken into account and rubber-stamped by Ministerial intervention. This support would include writing to the Premier, the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Energy & Resources and other relevant bodies requesting this action be taken
- Supporting the sourcing of legal advice from a senior Town Planner barrister/solicitor to determine any possible legal challenges to the Ministers decision. We are asking for a sum of $3000 from Moreland Council, and will also be approaching the City of Yarra and City of Darebin to help fund this action. This will not commit the City of Moreland to undertaking any further legal action, rather put us all in the position of understanding the potential of a legal challenge against the decision to rezone. Of course we would share this legal advice with Council and others supporting our actions.
- Support us in any appeal to VCAT around the Minister’s decision, based on the significant loss of amenity and wellbeing that a development of this nature in a residential area will cause (including the health and wellbeing of those residents in the neighbouring municipality of Darebin who live directly under the HV transmission lines).
- That Council make available the full set of Officers Reports and file notes relating to this application development that was twice rejected by Council’s Urban Planning Committee. In particular it would be helpful to get information about the full extent of correspondence between the proponents of the development and Council in the leadup to the June 2010 and November 2011 meetings, to help understand the level of consultation (or lack of) that occurred in the proponents seeking a planning permit.

We appreciate that Council has made various statements to condemn the Government’s lack of consultation with the community and with Council over the rezoning of this land. We trust that you will be able to continue supporting our fight to overturn or at least review this decision, and return some level of confidence to residents in the City of Moreland that the democratic Planning Laws in this State are there to ensure that all parties are heard and given the right to have their say, particularly in such large scale and potentially dangerous development decisions.

Kind regards
Chris Black and Ramon Colodetti
On behalf of the Merri Creek Residents Group