Waverley council will push its own legal action to contest the demolition of Allianz Football Stadium

Waverley Mayor John Wakefield said the council will not be joining Local Democracy Matters in its legal bid against Sydney Football Stadium but they will run independent legal action.

Allianz stadium at Moore Park in Sydney pictured this month. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

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Waverley Mayor John Wakefield said the council will not be joining Local Democracy Matters in its legal bid against Sydney Football Stadium.

Waverley Council is putting forward its own legal action that will challenge the redevelopment of Allianz Stadium.

“(We will be) running our legal action independently of them,” said Cr Wakefield.

“We are not joining the community case and our case is distinct and different from theirs. It is only the same in one element and that is the design excellence,” he said.

“Hopefully Waverley council will work in parallel with that process,” said Cr Wakefield, of Local Democracy Matters legal contest.

Neither City of Sydney, nor Randwick council, will pursue a legal case.

The mayor of the City of Sydney, Clover Moore, Randwick mayor Kathy Neilson and the Waverley mayor met yesterday in an effort to defer the Community Consultative Committee meeting last night.

Mayor John Wakefield, Mayor Kathy Neilson and Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

“Our concern is that the committee has not been properly formed and we believe it is another failure of the minister to follow proper procedure,” said Cr Wakefield.

Waverley Council said they had been writing to the NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts for a year with their concerns over the legitimacy of the demolition of Sydney Football Stadium before they received a response last month.

“For the first time in a year he did respond and he said there is nothing wrong with the consent,” Cr Wakefield said.

Allianz stadium at Moore Park in Sydney on February 6, 2019.

“The minister failed to follow the correct procedures when issuing the consent … What’s relevant is that we have legal advice from independent barristers that there has been a significant failure in the process of this consent,” said Cr Wakefield.

Artist impressions of the winning design for the future Sydney Football Stadium.

Waverley Council is identified by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure as a significant stakeholder in the development.

The council is concerned with the bulk and scale of the design, its visibility to residents in the area, the reflexivity of materials and other issues about upholding the planning laws.

Artist impression of the future stadium as seen from Driver Ave.