Clarence Valley Council rescission motion on proposed Yamba Community Precinct deemed unlawful

A North Coast council meeting should have been a fairly quick affair, but it turned into a fierce debate with a last minute move on a major project deemed unlawful.

What was meant to be a simple meeting for a northern NSW council turned into turmoil after a motion was deemed unlawful.

Clarence Valley Council met at Maclean for an extraordinary meeting on Friday.

It was supposed to centre around tenders for the council’s largest upcoming projects – the redevelopment of the Grafton Pool and the new Yamba community precinct.

However, a rescission motion was lodged by Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy to halt tender negotiations on the proposed Yamba Community Precinct minutes before the meeting began.

The precinct has been mired in controversy since the council announced it would demolish the existing 22-year-old Yamba Treelands Drive Community Precinct (TDCP) for the new structure.

The new precinct, described in council documents as a “modern, spacious cultural and educational hub”, would be integrated with the TAFE NSW Connect Learning Centre and Yamba Community Health.

Artist impression of the new Yamba Community Precinct.

Five councillors were named as supporting the motion, including Clarence Mayor Ian Tiley.

However, he said he did not add his signature to the motion, which has since been ruled unlawful by the Office of Local Government.

“You’ve got to have seven working days before a rescission motion can be considered,” Cr Tiley said.

“We had seven minutes.

“I never signed the motion but there must have been a presumption that I would.”

Cr Clancy said he was waiting on further information from the council’s general manager Laura Black.

“I would’ve thought that the rescission motion was lawful and I look forward to any further advice in relation to the matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, councillor Karen Toms said herself and other councillors, were “completely blindsided” by the motion.

Cr Toms said she felt “vindicated” now the recession has been officially declared unlawful.

Councillor Karen Toms.

“I was shocked … and very disappointed because it looked like it was a planned thing by five councillors,” she said.

“Now we just need to stay on the pathway, move forward, and get the Yamba Community Precinct done.”

The motion will likely be put to the council at the next general meeting in September.

Originally published as Clarence Valley Council rescission motion on proposed Yamba Community Precinct deemed unlawful