RICHMOND Valley Council has received notice of an appeal by Goldcoral Pty Ltd to the Land and Environment Court of NSW, seeking to overturn the recent refusal of the Iron Gates, Evans Head, development application.
Although this matter was determined by the Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP), under NSW planning laws, Richmond Valley Council is the respondent to the appeal.
Richmond Valley Council General Manager Vaughan Macdonald said while Council respected the development assessment processes and the right of all applicants to appeal planning decisions, it was disappointing the Richmond Valley community would now have to carry the cost of defending this decision.
“The NSW Government established regional planning panels because it did not trust councils to make decisions on significant planning matters, such as those proposing the scale of development the Iron Gates proposal seeks,” Mr Macdonald said.
“Yet we will now experience the resource impacts of the NRPP’s decision being challenged, as our local community will be left to carry the cost of the court process.
“At a time when the Richmond Valley is focused on the challenge of recovering from the worst flood on record, I’m sure our community would rather see these funds spent on fixing roads, repairing drains and helping people to get back into their homes.”
Mr Macdonald said the matter had been listed for a directions hearing on Monday 24 October and Council would be following the process required by the Land and Environment Court.