CLEANAWAY’S plan for an $8.5 million compost facility near Gerogery, knocked back by a regional planning panel earlier this year, is set to go before the NSW Land and Environment Court in Sydney next year.
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The company’s move to lodge its appeal means the court will make a fresh assessment of the development application unless the parties can settle the matter through mediation.
At this stage a resolution via mediation seems unlikely given the public push by opponents to the proposal as well as the council’s recommendation that the planning panel refuse the application, while council director Colin Kane previously declared the site unsuitable in a environmental assessment report.
But Cleanaway regional manager Stuart Masters believes the Land and Environment Court hearing would provide the opportunity for the proposal’s attributes and environmental benefits to be better understood and thus encourage a change of heart about the development application.
The appeal by Cleanaway may also prove a costly battle for the Greater Hume Council if it becomes a lengthy matter caught up in the court before a determination can be made that both sides will accept.
